The Path after Death
by claretyj
Summary: Naruto is dead. He has decided to become a Shinigami, but it seems that his afterlife is not as smooth and easy as expected. Lastly, will his unforgotten past catch up with him? NarutoXBleach crossover.
1. A new World

This is a Naruto Bleach crossover and I suggest you should read only if you know both of them well. Pairings undecided as I suck at writing romance fics. There will probably be none, except for canon ones.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 1:**

**新しい世界(atarashi i sekai) A new world.**

* * *

Naruto groaned groggily. He felt hollow and empty inside. _Where was he?_ The ground beneath him was cold and hard. Strange, he thought he was in a battlefield. Had he been knocked out and taken hostage? Immediately alert now, he spread out his senses, but forced his eyes and body to remain limp and still. If he was somehow kidnapped by his enemies and taken into integration room (fat chance), letting the enemies think that he was still unconscious _might_ be a useful advantage.

He could hear footsteps and the occasional mutterings around him, but did not feel any stares being directed at him. It was as if someone lying on the floor as an everyday thing. Well, at least he knew now that he wasn't in an enemy base. _Splash._ Something wet fell on him and he resisted the urge to wipe it away._ 'Stay sill, stay still, don't move...'_ Taking a sniff, his brain registered what it was. Rain. It was raining. _How dare those people left him lying in the rain!_ Oh, right, he forgot. He was the Kyuubi brat, the person who took their precious Yondaime away from them. He deserved to lie in the rain. Strangely though, no one had started to throw stones at him yet. Maybe they were a bit lighthearted today. That was good.

Still in a frenzy (and he regretfully admitted, a tinge of curiosity) about being left out in the rain, he immediately opened his eyes, with a mind to scream at the unthoughtful villages. As light filtered into his vision, it took a moment for his brain to realize why it was so glaring bright all of a sudden. Sunshine. It was mid-afternoon. Realizing what he had done, he hastily shut his eyes shut again. That _hurt_. He re-opened his eyes, although he made sure that he did it slower this time. His vision was very foggy after shutting them down for too long when he first did so. As his vision cleared and sharpened, his mind took a while to register that what he saw were indeed, real and not a mirage.

True, this place was no less different than the shinobi world, and its features resembled the wave country, yet it was not. The buildings were old fashioned and run down. The floor was covered with litter and a few homeless people could be spotted under building with roofs for shelter, meager shelters they were. There was a sort of dreary, depressed feeling hanging in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the people there were wearing old tattered yukatas with straw sandals. Even the wave country or non-shinobi villages were not that poor until they couldn't afford proper shirts without holes in them.

_Splash._ His stiff arms pushed his body upwards slowly-and a bit painfully- but Naruto took no notice of that as he observed people walking past him in the rain, some wearing straw hats, but the poorer ones running for shelter. Where the hell was he? It was no county he had ever seen before. He sparred himself a glance after feeling that his body was getting wet faster then normal. He did made sure that his clothes were water resistant to a certain extend… _Noooo_… he was not in his favourite orange jumpsuit anymore but in an outfit similar to ones the villagers were wearing- a horrible blue yukata whose colours were fading, and one of those ugly, ugly, squeaky, tattered straw sandals.

This is horrible! An outrage! First he was dumped on the streets on a rainy day, and then he found out that he was in some forsaken land of beggars and now he was somehow robbed off his clothes and given _third_-hand replacements. At least his 'captor' was kind enough to redress and not dump him outside bare and naked…was that what had happened to everyone here? His stomach growled. Joy. Things couldn't get any better- he was hungry.

_Splash._ He sighed, planning to get a quick bite before getting the hell out of here. Then he'll continue his mission- to find a certain Uchiha and whip the fellow's butt. _Hard. _And with that in mind, he stood up. Or at least tried to. To his horror, he found out that his feet wobbled feebly for a few seconds before giving way to his body's weight. They buckled and he landed hard on his butt and glared at his legs. If Sasuke were here, that idiot would never let him live this day down. Sure, he was a clumsy shinobi, but not this pathetic until he had no control over his own body. In fact, his taijustsu skills were average or even better than that! What the hell happened to him while he was away? _Splash._ He tried walking again, this time clutching tightly to the moldy nearby wall for support. After taking four steps, however, his idiotic knees gave way again and down he fell. His bum hurt.

"Ambitious, aren't you? Just coming here and trying to walk already." A young voice drawled out from behind him, sounding extremely sarcastic but at the same time, amused.

"What would you have me do instead? Sit down here stupidly under the rain?" Naruto automatically retorted and turned to glare at the offender, his shinobi pride emerging. Naruto was kind of upset that someone actually saw him in his embarrassing state. Instead of glowering, the ninja ended up staring at the stranger's weird appearance. The boy had spiky hair that was bleached white and green eyes. He was wearing a white kosode, a black kimono and hakama, and a white obi. A sword was strapped over his back with a thick green sash. This boy definitely stood out amongst the crowd of scruffy stinky villagers, both in status and looks.

"Who are you?" Naruto replied rather rudely. He almost slapped himself for that. _Shinobi rule 63: Familiarize yourself with your surroundings when in unknown territory and blend in with the crowd. Do not stand out too much._ Smart talking was definitely standing out.

"Just one of the many Shinigamis you can find around." The boy nonchalantly replied, looking at his charge expectantly for a dramatic reaction. He was not disappointed- the remaining colour left on Naruto's unusually pale whiskered mark cheeks was drained off.

"…Shini…gami?" Death God? Right here, in front of him? "You have got to be kidding me, right?" _'Please, oh please say no…' _Naruto pleaded. But somehow, he knew that he was not being tricked. But…he held no memory of him ever dying; the last thing he remembered was blacking out upon reaching the battlefield, into a long, dreamless sleep…and he did _not_ remember fighting. _'But still, please say that you're joking…'_

"Yes, you're dead. Face it." That tactless idiot over there was being exceptionally blunt. And really, really, irritating.

Naruto forced out a laugh. "Good one, Shorty! But you're so not fooling me! I can't be dead; I mean, I haven't really caught up with Sasuke-teme yet, and those buffoons Akatsuki, plus that wimp Kabuto, are after him! Now if you excuse me, I really got to get going…got to go fill my stomach up with Ramen you know." He weakly pushed himself up and tried to walk away. He didn't need to hear anymore, he didn't want to. All he needed to do right now was to concentrate on finding Sasuke.

_Splash._ "Running away? You never seemed like the cowardly type to me, oh great and powerful shinobi-san. So stand up, be a man and face reality." The boy taunted, watching him coolly from behind, not even twitching a muscle to stop or comfort his given charge. Naruto stopped in his tracks, clutching the wall tightly. The rain was steadily increasing, drenching his hair and soaking his clothes.

"I'm not running… not dead…I'm…" He spluttered. How could this happen? The Kyuubi wouldn't let him die, that all-too-arrogant fox would rather take over his body to kill his enemies than staying meekly in the cage and wait for death to come. Uzumaki Naruto could never die.

_Splash._ "That fox got separated from you, you stupid clueless nitwit. The Akatsuki won. Kyuubi was extracted out." It was rather disconcerting how that puny _gaki_ knew where his train of thoughts was going.

"No…" Naruto clutched his head and shook it hard. He was obviously in denial. He started walking again. _'Concentrate on walking.'_ He calmed himself down and put on the blank blanked his face, like what all ANBU were taught. _'Left foot…right foot… left foot… right foot… left foot…'_

"Where are you going? Your friends aren't here. Konoha isn't on this plane of existence. Nothing you know is here. You have nothing to return to, and nowhere to go for shelter and help." The boy jabbed at him again. Truly frustrated and somewhat irritated now, Naruto swerved around and screamed at that irritating shorty that meddles in other people's business and just can't seem to leave him alone.

"Shut your mouth up, you stupid kid! I'm not dead! I'm still here and with a body that's still intact, aren't I? And I'm soon-to-be Rokudaime Hokage! That baa-chan still hasn't given up her position to me yet! How could I die now?! And…And that Sasuke! He's still emoing _somewhere_ around, and I got to stop him before he cuts himself up or something!" Naruto yelled out, before taking in a shaky breath and calming down considerably after all that shouting.

"I can't die now, I...I still have a lot of things I need to do..." Naruto said, more to himself then to the boy. He wobbled and fell down. Again. He wanted to scream out in frustration, if not for the fact that he had much more pressing matters in mind.

The boy walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulders. Hmp. Showing pity to him after the screaming? He wasn't all too sympathetic when telling him that he was dead. "Hey, come with me; let's get you something to eat. People with high reserves like yours should be feeling pretty hungry by now." He said softy. He received no answer- Naruto's face was blank.

"Hey." The white haired boy shook him. Still no response came. What the hell? Did his scrawny mind go on overload because he had finally processed that he was dead?

'That's right. What's done is done. No point mopping over it.' Naruto was telling himself. 'I'll...I'll probably find a way to stop Sasuke from killing himself over here as a ghost...in one way or another…'

"O-Oei, are you okay?" The boy asked hesitantly when no response was given. He was used to people trying to bash their head onto walls, wailing onto his kimono, screaming out loud and pulling their hair…etc. but never did someone just sat there, looking blank and just...shut down. Finally, he got a reply after one more violent shake.

"…Do you have any ramen over here?" Naruto mumbled, his expression clearing up a bit, though he looked completely confused and lost now. But that statement just meant that Uzumaki Naruto had accepted his death.

* * *

Yes, this is finally done. This is my first fic, and I'm kind of unsure of how you do it and just testing out, so if I get at least 5 reviews or more, then maybe I'll continue or something...


	2. Actions and Memories

Yep, thanks for those reviews. Chapter 2 is up!

**Chapter 2:**

**記憶及び行為****(kioku oyobi koui) Memories and Actions.**

* * *

Naruto patted his belly fondly and burped. Then he turned to his silent and slightly irritated companion. "Thanks Shorty, but I think I can manage from here."

"Did…you just call me Shorty?!" His 'companion' gasped out, horrified at the name.

"Yeah, you're kind of short, see?" Naruto smiled and reached out a hand to measure the difference in their heights, as though he was taunting the boy.

"That's not my name! Don't call me that!" Naruto's new 'buddy' angrily swiped the offending hand away, a little touchy when the subject involves his height. "Sheesh. I shouldn't have bought you lunch."

"Then what should I call you?" Naruto asked innocently, ignoring the last spoken sentence. "Masaka… you want to be called...Shiro...-chan?"

"No. Not...Shiro…" The boy gritted out, thinking it was the worst name anyone could ever receive. "It's Hitsugaya Toushiro. 3rd seat of the 10th division." He muttered the last part hastily; thanking kami silently that Naruto didn't know what the 10th division was all about. Naruto gave his foxy grin. So cute, just like Konohamaru…hmm, thinking of Konohamaru immediately made him frown. Toushiro at once spotted the frown.

"Oei, stop mopping over the past already." Toushiro groaned, sick of Naruto's brooding face. Was the blonde like this ninety percent of the time? He really hoped not. First brooding and uncomfortable, then hyperactive and irritating, then brooding _again_… "I already paid for your eight, no, _ten _bowls of ramen so that you could at least _talk._ And I'm not going to treat you to another bowl."

'_Damn, this guy is sharp.'_ Naruto glared. "Hey! You cheapskate fellow! I just died, and I'm taking it really good already, okay? Pay me some respect." Naruto snorted, but he sobered up a bit and asked more seriously. "And one more thing- why can't I remember anything? About how I died? You did said the Akatsuki killed me, right?"

At first, Toushiro was rather surprised that while brooding, Naruto actually did pick up on some of his words. He didn't think that Naruto would remember about the Akatsuki part. Then, he considered on whether he should tell the blond this tidbit of information. He hesitated; usually, newcomers were not given any help at all, they figured it all out by themselves. But for him, since his _is_ a special case...

" It's just something Soul Society does to those souls who come here…remove part of their memories so souls won't get too agitated about what happened to them in the past and try to kill themselves again- or go for revenge. You still can injure yourself here, you know. The longer you spend your time here, the more your memories of when you were still alive will get erased." Toushiro said dully, since this came right out of the textbook you were required to memorize in order to advance to be a shinigami.

He took a gulp of water and continued. "Rarely will people remember their past again, and even if they did, having those memories popping out of nowhere will probably confuse them. Furthermore, as soon as you agree to become a Shinigami, all your memories of the past will slowly fade away and never return."

Silence met his words. Naruto was opening and closing his mouth, trying to get something out but failing, probably in horror. Toushiro sighed. He probably scared the boy for life already. Poor guy. He was somewhat thankful he was born in Soul Society itself, instead of leading new lives in here and twiddling your thumbs away as your memory gets deleted.

Naruto's reaction, you could say, did make him live up to his name as the village's number one unexpected ninja. He had the reaction of what Toushiro had anticipated the least.

" Yeah, well, screw that!" Naruto shouted, standing up furiously. Toushiro blinked at the boy's loud outburst. "No stupid soul society is going to wipe away my memories of my friends! They are the ones who helped me! Who...stood up for me and stuck with me! I mean, I know Sasuke-teme's still a stuck up bastard, and Shikamaru's a lazy bastard, and Neji's an emo bastard, but we've all been through thick and thin together!"

Naruto took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "They're all my precious people," He whispered. "And I'll be done for if I forgot what they all did for me. Small repayment that will be." He said the last part fiercely, took his makeshift crutch and limped out. Sure, would have stomped out, but his leg just _refused_ to listen to him. He left very angry at his current body state. It was already embarrassing enough that he could be seen walking around with a crutch.

Toushiro could only stare at the spot where Naruto just left. Soul Society had kindly made those adjustments so that those souls could start a fresh live without being hindered by their past memories. And most souls would rather forget their past anyway. Some were just too painful to be remembered. Never did someone prefer to, or rather demanded, to keep his or her memories. Never was someone this determined to bend against the unbreakable law of Soul Society.

Now however, Toushiro foolishly thought that maybe he shouldn't have wholeheartedly agreed on that rule. What Naruto said had made him felt rather guilty at himself. Seeing logic in the rules is one thing, but Toushiro had never really been bothered before on how others felt about them. Snapping back to reality, he absently paid the bill for the ramen and left. He really should continue his rounds around Rukongai and track down that dumb blond idiot; least he'll receive a full round of troublesome nagging from his captain.

* * *

"Sixty-six...sixty-seven...sixty-eight..." Naruto grunted as he tried walking without his crutches, determined to regain full control of his legs or lest it'll tarnish his pride as a Shinobi. Uzumaki Naruto, the most agile and hyperactive ninja ever seen in the village of Konoha, with a crutch. Yeah, right. This seriously can't be happening. From then onwards, Naruto decided that his so-called afterlife sucked. Badly.

_The body you have on now is a sprit body. Since your soul new to it and not like the others who were born fixed with it, it's still getting used to its new body and is trying its best to adapt to it. For most people, it may take at least five hours just to even move a limb. Even people with high spiritual power take two to three weeks to start walking independently. _Toushiro had said that.

'Heck who cares about what Toushiro says; whatever comes out of his mouth is practically crap anyway.' Naruto decided. 'I'll be walking in a week, or else my name isn't Uzumaki Naruto!' Then he started walking again. "Ninety-one...ninety-two...ninety-three...ninety-four-"

"BOO."

"Aaaaargh!" Naruto lost his concentration, tripped, and landed flat on his face. He pushed himself back up and glared at the offending stranger who squatted down beside him, as though mocking him for being so easily startled. After realizing it was _only_ Toushiro (yes, only Toushiro), he grabbed the other boy by the collar and started shaking him hard. "TEME! I WAS ABOUT TO HIT 100 STEPS AND YOU RUINED IT ALL!"

Toushiro rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He swatted Naruto's hand away and stood up, brushing himself down. He was somewhat impressed by this kid's ability to walk within this short time span, but this is a special case after all. It was his mission, and abnormal things should be happening with _his_ kind around.

Naruto sat crossed legged and pouted. "You don't just go 'boo!' at somebody who is trying to walk!"

Toushiro rolled his eyes and didn't bother to give a reply. Sheesh; so now you're saying that people like him can't even have some fun? Nevertheless, he sat down, crossed-legged beside Naruto. "I have a proposition for you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his tone. Years of being ANBU training done by Ibiki did make you much more alert about people's feelings. Even the klutz that he was, Naruto did manage to absorb some facts unknowingly. "What?"

Reading emotions and feelings is one thing, but trying to guess what the other is thinking about is a complete different story. Because what Toushiro said next, however, surprised him.

"Why don't you consider being a Shinigami?"

* * *

TBC.

Yes, next chapter is finally completed. Thanks so much, all you reviewers! Okay...maybe I went too angsty about that memories part but hey! Naruto's just really emotional, that's all. You have to wait awhile for what I said in the summary to come out, so don't be too impatient, Kay? And I have really weird imagination about the 'lost memories' and 'spiritual body' theory, but this is why it's called fan fiction after all.


	3. Refusal

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 3- **

**拒否****(Kyohi) Refusal**

* * *

"Why don't you consider being a shinigami?"

Naruto stared at him blankly. "Are you nuts?"

"No," Toushiro sighed exasperatedly. "I'm serious! Doesn't my face say so?"

"Your face says 'I'm about to puke at what I'm saying now.'" Naruto grinned, already deciding that this boy in front of him is mentally challenged. He had always been a good shinobi; he had witnessed all kinds of death, from illnesses to slaughter in various ways…all he had seen. He had even _killed_- he was a shinobi. Now, someone wanted him to help the dead. It was really ironic. Did someone wanted to tell him to atone for all those he had killed? He thought death was enough atonement already, it turns out he was wrong.

Toushiro groaned, already guessing the answer from Naruto's cynical and distrustful face. Well, it doesn't matter if he wanted to be one or not; precise orders are given to bring the blond back, no matter what the circumstances are. Asking just makes his job easier- for a lazy person like him. But of course, he didn't expect it to be that simple too.

"Well, do you want to become a shinigami or not?" Toushiro starting to get impatient with Naruto's lack of a response and a slight bit edgy and tense too. "I don't go around asking people this stupid, lame question everyday, you know! In fact, I've never even asked this dumb question even once in my entire life at all! So please don't ruin my pride and just say yes…"

"Relax, relax... You're spraying spit on my face already, disgusting." Naruto made a revolted face and pretended to wipe imaginary spit off his whisker marked cheeks. "So… what will it have me doing?" He asked, though only saying that because it looks as though the other boy would start screaming into his ear if he didn't at least _appear_ to be interested. Which he wasn't in the least bit. He already knew the answer himself.

"A shinigami's duties includes leading departed spirits to Soul Society in a practice called soul burial and the cleansing of hollows, which are technically spirits that got engulfed in their on sorrow and misery and turned bad. The other duties of a shinigami are governing the flow of spirits between the human world and Soul Society." Toushiro said, all in one breath, as though he was reading from a script.

"One word.'Huh'?" Toushiro resisted the urge to smack him. _'Should I just whack him unconscious and drag him back...?' _He found himself thinking. _'Hmm… that should make my job easier, though he'll kill me for that later. And he looks like the really persistent type.'_

"In other words, you are to help save the souls of others and kill big fat monsters called Hollows, understand?" Toushiro summarized and managed to force it out through gritted teeth. It was like teaching a three year old, having to use this level of vocabulary to make him understand.

"In other words, I'm going to save the souls of poor spirits that got lost on the road of life and kill big fat monsters called Hollows?" Naruto asked, already skimming through the pros and cons of this job. Hmmm …Slaughtering doesn't seem like a too bad idea though. And since they're monsters and not human anyway …

"That's what I just said!" Toushiro started to shout, but stopped. "Wait. What road of life? I didn't say that!"

"You didn't. My sensei did." Naruto huffed, though somewhat absentmindedly, distracted by trying to think of an answer to tell the boy so that the other would not get mad at him. Obviously he did not want the job- he had other important things to do, like regaining full control of his body and then finding a way to use his jutsus again (if it was even possible in this world) and then finding Sasuke. Too many to count. Besides, he was loyal only to his beloved Konoha; no way was he going to serve the Shinigami organization. But judging from the tight jaw and tense posture, it seems that Toushiro was not going to take no for an answer.

"So are you going to accept it?" Toushiro impatiently shifted his weight from one foot to another; he wanted to get the job done as fast as possible. It was not his character to be begging people to register themselves after all, doing this made him felt very awkward.

"And if I say no?" Naruto asked bluntly, abandoning all attempts on sweet-talking his way out and eyeing the boy as though expecting some sort of attack from him. He should be.

"What? Why?" Toushiro turned and looked at Naruto sharply. That really was a surprise. First time trying to recruit someone and got turned down. Great. The entire 10th division will be laughing at their third seat soon. Hell, even unranked Shinigamis can enroll people much more easily than him.

"I didn't forget what you said, Toushiro. I just won't forget my friends! My memories are mine and I won't give them up, not for anyone or anything." Naruto snapped at Toushiro. "You did say that once you became a shinigami, memories of your past life would be deleted away, right?"

"I also said that even if you stayed here, your memories would still fade away! It's pointless to resist the enchantments set up here!" Toushiro said, exasperated, but bemused somewhat that despite what he looked like, Naruto could remember certain things well.

"But you said that there might be a chance that I can regain them!" Naruto protested. "So maybe if I could record it down and if I stay here long enough... I…I…"

"A slim chance! _Slim!_ Don't you understand? One not even more than zero point zero one percent!" Toushiro groaned at his stupidity. "What makes you think that you're so special you'll be the only one able to regain them, huh? There are numerous others out there, all having the same mindset, and now what? They forgot too! And the worse part is, they even forgot that they had forgotten!"

"But there's still a chance." Naruto said in a low voice and looking down, not daring to meet Toushiro's critical face. "There's still hope, so I won't give up yet. In fact, I can't even afford to forget! Sasuke...Sasuke is still... I still have other things I need to do, dammit! You understand, right?"

"Just how much more idiotic can you become?! don't cling onto fake hope. The past is in the past. Just treat this as your new beginning in life." Toushiro advised him. "You are dead. So face it already and get used to it. The dead is not meant to meddle with the affairs of the living. If that is so, then the balance will be tipped in favor of the humans. That is why we Shinigami are here. To balance them out. There's absolutely no way you could help your friends back there now."

"Its not fake hope. It's trust. Loyalty. And if I can't find them, then I'll wait for them to come into this plane instead! I'll wait, okay? I don't care how many centuries will pass before that actually happens and to be frank, I don't really care! So shut up and go 'balance' someone else out!" Naruto yelled, while trying to digest his own words himself. Who really knew how long more it'll take for the entire Rookie nine to die and come up here with him? They were all still in their prime, and Naruto will seriously whack them hard if they died an early death like himself.

Toushiro seemed to share the same thoughts. "You moron! There are more than a thousand districts in Rukongai! Even if your friends die and come here, it'll be near impossible to meet any of them!" Toushiro cried, frustrated at this situation too. "Plus, the timeline between the two worlds are different! Maybe when they finally came, you'll already be long reincarnated! And then I'll laugh at you hard."

"We're all Shinobi! I'll...I'll try to locate their chakra pulses or something..." Naruto trailed of, pondering what he'll do next. First, he decided, he'll need to get himself a journal. He'll jot the days down, so that way he won't be forgetting anytime soon! Ha! Then next, he'll do some snooping around and try to figure out how to communicate with the other world.

Toushiro sighed. He could see that at any rate, Naruto would not come with him quietly without a fight. Naruto was already grasping at the straws, trying to convince himself that his memories would be safe with himself. In the end, it all comes down to this huh? No wonder Soul Society erased memories. Imagine if everyone were just as upset and loud as him. It'll be a big headache for Soul Society then.

Toushiro gave yet another sigh and stood up, turning to walk away. If he carried on, the shouting match would turn into a brawl soon. And Naruto will certainly not want to go Seireitei. "Fine, stay here if you want. In order to survive, you'll have to act like a civilian, you know? Just don't die begging for food."

"What? Don't they sell them?" Naruto blinked at the abrupt change of topic and behavior.

Toushiro glanced, disparaging. "No, only people with high spiritual power, or reiatsu, get hungry. Like us, Shinigami, for example. Food is hard to obtain at a low price." Toushiro stood up, brushed himself down, and walked off. Shame, really. Someone with that much spiritual power…what a waste. "I'll see you later." He said in an icy tone. Surprised at the sudden change of attitude, Naruto stood up and started attempting his walking exercise again.

"Leave all you want, Shorty!" He called to a retreating Toushiro's back. "I'd rather die on the streets than lose what's precious to me! If all Shinigami are a stuck up as you, then I'll really say 'no thank you' to this job! And killing monsters are lame!"

Toushiro twitched at the word Shorty but other than that, showed no sign of ever hearing him, just clinically striding down the ally. He was pretty soon engulfed into the shadows and not visible any more.

"Teme." Naruto growled and turned away. "Which shinobi is stupid enough to involve themselves with these kind of matters? Balancers my foot."

* * *

_Two weeks later_

Toushiro, stiff and bored, did his rounds again like any other day, although still a little bit sore at having blotched up the mission assigned to him. He winced and rubbed his still throbbing ears where his captain had practically screamed into. _"You lost track of Uzumaki Naruto, who can't even walk properly by himself?!"_ He couldn't help it; he didn't want to use force to get Naruto to enter as a shinigami. He really was getting soft. Or was it Naruto's words? That guy really has his way with words. Scary.

Suddenly, he stopped short as he spotted a villager leaning against a broken down fence. His exposed arms were full of bruises and his clothes were staked with mud and bits of grass. Funny- someone lying so still under a hot, blazing afternoon sun. People would usually stay under shelters. Toushiro walked up to him and shook him roughly. "Hey, wake up. What are you doing here, lying down like that?"

To his surprise, the boy muttered something and turned away from him. And he thought he was unconscious. Realizing that the teen had only been sleeping, and he had actually showed _concern _for someone over a small matter, Toushiro, to save his pride, kicked the guy none too lightly. "Oei, wake up! This is no place to sleep!"

"I said go butt off and die, Toushiro." The blond angrily muttered and rubbed his eyes, and tiredly pushed himself into sitting position with shaking arms, though he was slouched all over the creaky, moldy fence.

"Naruto?! What are you doing here?" Toushiro asked, rather surprised. He had been searching for this boy for over two weeks, and he left no trace at all. And now, he was just snoozing here under broad daylight, for everyone to see. Toushiro mentally slapped himself. It's not like Naruto _could_ hide himself fast enough, with his body being like that.

"I'm playing with the grass. Look, doesn't this one look like a senbon?" Naruto said sarcastically. Then he yawned and turned away. "Go home, Shorty. I already said I don't want to become a shinigami. And I'm not the kind which gives in to constant persuasion and nagging."

"I wasn't going to ask you about that!" Toushiro replied, indigent. "You've already declined; I'm not going to waste my time chasing after you just so you could sign the registration form. What? Do you think we Shinigamis are that low in strength that we have to stalk people to recruit them?" Though of course, half of his exclamation is a real big lie. Naruto_ had_ to come to Seireitei. The orders are absolute. Though he'd rather bring Naruto himself there than one of the men from Soifon's division to.

"Oh?" Naruto raised an unbelieving eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Very convincing, Shorty. Then why are you still lingering around my person? Don't you have better stuff to be doing, _shinigami_?"

"I just wanted to know where you got all your bruises in only a span of two weeks." Toushiro grunted. "Is it life really that difficult out there? The people here don't start fights without my approval."

Naruto grinned. "Oh them? I got them all from stealing food. And rotting stale ones, mind you." It was half-truth anyway. The majority was gotten from trying to walk non-stop without stumbling. It looked to him like there was little to no progress at all, and the entire subject itself was very maddening.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had just came to me, baka." Toushiro said. "I could have given you some spare cash to spend…"

"I can carry my own weight, thanks." Naruto's reply came immediately, in a flat tone. He was already embarrassed about walking around with his body in this condition; he didn't want to rely on anyone else for help. Besides, shinobis were trained to live off from anything they could find; including snails and bugs, if it was a worst case situation.

"Your body isn't fast enough to react yet! See, you're all bruised up now- stop trying to push your luck." Toushiro exclaimed, prodding one off the many visible bruises on his left forearm. "And I'm _offering_ my help here…"

"Nonsense." Naruto absently waved his bruised hand while stifling a yawn with his other. "It's fine; it's only a few bruises. It'll heal, so don't worry. "

Toushiro sighed in exasperation at the others' stubbornness and sat beside Naruto, silently handing him a few onigiri. Naruto looked at it warily before giving in to his hunger and bit into one graciously. They sat like this in silence for a while and Toushiro pounded on this strange boy beside him. Were his memories more important then his life? He was willing to throw away the luxurious life of a Shinigami, which everyone eyed, and spend it here, on the deserted harsh streets, like a beggar. Just for the sake of keeping his _memories_ of his friends. That was...lame.

"…I'll ask you again. Do you really want to decline this job offer?" Toushiro asked. Half of him wanted to tell the boy to do so, to stop being this naïve and accept, while the other half wanted him to decline the offer; he really envied his unwavering determination and loyalty to his friends.

Naruto slowly chewed on his food as he reconsidered the proposal. He swallowed the last of the onigiri and wiped his mouth. "Fine." He said finally. "I'll accept it."

* * *

Instead of feeling a sense of achievement, Toushiro somehow felt disappointed at the boy in front of him. He thought Naruto was different from others. He thought that the blond was hard to break.

"But what about your precious _memories_?" He asked, finally, in a taunting tone. "I thought you treasured them!"

Naruto only stared back at him, looking magnificently confused. "I thought you begged me to…join. The deal's still on, right? …Is this some sort of hidden test?"

Toushiro growled in frustration. "Yes, but you would willingly throw what is precious to you, for a more luxurious life-?" Toushiro stopped halfway during his speech, shocked at his own words. _'What are you saying? You should be happy he finally agreed to come. This makes your job ten times easier!' _

Naruto laughed. "You're a funny one Shorty! First you're all 'Join us, stupid! Do you want to die on the streets?' then two weeks later you're all 'Why did you join? You really are stupid!' You're contradicting your own words!"

Yes, it was strange. First, he wanted Naruto to follow him quietly to save the hassle, and do it out of his own will, but now, he actually wanted the blond to leave with a fight. He knew he would emerge the victor, but he wanted the blond to at least fight for his memories instead of just resigning and letting them go. Toushiro had simply given him a taste of luxury and the blonde's mindset had swung to a different direction altogether. Naruto's determination had turned out to be only half-assed. He stood up and stomped off. 'He's_ just like the rest…_' He thought angrily. '_I was wrong to think of him as another. As someone different_.'

"Well?" Toushiro turned around once sensing that Naruto had stopped following him. "Aren't you coming to get your comfy life?" Naruto slowly staggered to his feet and glared that the white-haired kid for forgetting him and not helping him out. '_Oh damn, I forgot his body is only two weeks old.'_ Toushiro thought. _'With the way he's acting and all that, you won't even know that the lower part of his body is still paralyzed.'_

"Hurry up, slowpoke. I'll still have to let you meet with the captains and all that formal crap." Toushiro muttered and put one of Naruto's arms over his shoulders. He staggered a bit as his body got used to the taller boy's height. It looked slightly awkward to others, to see a very short boy supporting someone who was taller.

Toushiro started to take a step forward but stopped since Naruto didn't move, his face still flashing with many unreadable emotions. Guilt? Regret? Toushiro could not guess. "Hey, I thought you agreed to leave your memories behind. Having second thoughts now?" Toushiro sighed and shook the blond again. "You're doing this just to spite me aren't you? Well, forget it. I'm not treating you to any more ramen you troublesome idiot."

Naruto turned to the little kid beside him. "You sound like Shikamaru." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice and a barely visible smile forming on his lips. "But you don't look a thing like him though."

"What?" Toushiro blinked, confused at what the blond was saying. Had he already cracked and went mental? Toushiro hoped not. It would make his job even harder, explaining to the captains why Uzumaki Naruto can't even answer what was his name.

"Shikamaru." Naruto repeated each syllable slowly and clearly, like how you would teach a two year old how to pronounce the word 'umbrella'. If Shikamaru heard him misusing his name like that, he would surely be trying to escape from a kage mane by now. "You know? He's always going '_Oh, this is so troublesome_.' And '_Oh, that is so troublesome_.' And even '_Oh Naruto, why must you be soooo troublesome…?_'" Naruto impersonated the shadow user's lazy whining and chuckled to himself at the memory. Temari had whacked him after that for being too 'noisy'.

"Having second thoughts now, Uzumaki?" Toushiro repeated smirking, knowing at least what he was talking about now. "Feel free to decline."

"Nope, I'm still going to be a Shinigami!" Naruto grinned widely. "Why not? Free food, free meals, free clothes, though I'd expect it'll be all black and white like yours, but never mind. And if ero-sennin were here, he'll say that they'll be free women too. But I'm not him, so I won't." Toushiro looked a bit disappointed. Naruto patted the boy on the head, earning him a glare, but he ignored it somehow. "But I'll have you know, even though I'm going to be a shinigami doesn't mean I'm going to throw my memories away."

"But your memories…" Toushiro wondered how the boy would be able to keep two things at the same time. It's impossible. And shinobi or not, he's still being affected by the enchantments for sure. Proof was already given. Him not being able to remember how he died.

"Are mine. Like I said, no stupid Soul Society is going to stop Uzumaki Naruto from losing his memories of his precious people!" Naruto announced firmly, and loudly. "I'd like to see them try."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Toushiro snorted at the return of the taller boy's loud attitude.

"Simple." Naruto picked up a shard of broken glass on the floor and shook back his sleeve. Toushiro gaped as Naruto carved a strange spirally symbol on his lower left arm. Blood was leaking out from the wounds, but Naruto didn't even flinch from the pain. He was just to absorb in carving that out.

"There! All done." Naruto said cheerfully, rubbing the blood off gently with his sleeve. Toushiro examined what had carved. It was hard to see through all the blood, but it looked like a leaf.

"What the heck did you just DO!?" He asked incredulously as his loosenedhis grip on the blonde. Naruto gazed fondly at his own arm. "Are you stupid? Having a new body and already destroying it! Carving pictures of strange leaves on your hand. Your body is _not_ a tablet for you to draw on!"

"This is the symbol of Konohagakure, hidden village of the leaves, stupid." Naruto glared at the tactless boy. "And my home. So from now on, I wouldn't need to wear a forehead protector anymore. Cool huh?"

"And it's going to help? Just carving it onto your skin like that?" Toushiro scoffed. "What do they say in these cases...A picture speaks a thousand words?"

"Exactly. Of course it'll work! I'll see it everyday, right? I'll feel the pain and be reminded of everyone at home, right? Baka. It's now a part of me I won't ever forget." Naruto laughed cheerfully. "Yosh! Now let us head off to this Shinigami land…or whatever it's called!"

Naruto tried to take a step but fell, clumsily, on his face. "Damn those idiotic legs of mine…" He cursed. And then glared at the still shocked expression on Toushiro's face. "And damn you too! I know you're like...ten inches shorter than me, but at least you could support me or something right? And stop gaping down there like an idiotic goldfish! Help me up!"

Toushiro hastened to drag him back up to his feet, adding a rude comment as he did, but his thoughts were elsewhere. 'On_ second thoughts, maybe this guy really is different from everyone else…_' He thought._ 'Uzumaki__ Naruto…is really one of a kind._'

* * *

See you for the next chapter.


	4. Raw Abilities

Oh gee, thanks for all those lovely reviews, guys! Just keep them coming!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach.

**Chapter 4:**

**未加工能力****(hitsuji kakou nouryoku)**** Raw Abilities**

* * *

"And…are you saying that a squirt like you wants to become a Shinigami?" Ise Nanao, vice-captain of the 8th division, peered out of her glasses and stared at the blond boy in front of her. "Can you even handle the job?"

"What's wrong with that!? What's so wrong about being a shinigami?" Naruto retorted back sharply, feeling very self-conscious and defensive. " What is wrong with me?" Toushiro was leaning against the doorframe, coolly watching the whole process but not bothering to help out.

"It's just that your…still too young…" Nanao said, turning back to Naruto's registration form, her eyes scanning through the sheet of parchment Toushiro had provided her. "And small to boot."

"SMALL?" Naruto's eyes popped out at that comment. "I'll show you small! _That_ is called small!" He pointed an accusing finger at Toushiro, who slid off the doorframe in shock and anger at that particular comment. Naruto took no notice and carried on ranting. "He looks like someone who had been hammered down into the ground and stayed stunted there like that!"

"Hey! I'm a third seat here! Show some respect!" Toushiro cried, shaking a fist furiously at the blond. "I am in a position to reject you, you know? So talk nicely to me or else!" Naruto didn't pay attention to his comment again.

"If that Shorty over there can be a third seat, can't I even be a shinigami?" Naruto screamed, making sure that his voice out-yelled Toushiro's. Nanao winced at the noise the two boys were making. "I knew it! You're a prejudiced bunch!"

"Hey, relax, relax, I didn't say that you can't register, I just said that you're still too small." Nanao sweat dropped at Naruto's loudness. Her ears were still throbbing painfully from the blonde's outburst.

"If I'm small, then what is _he_? Bacteria-sized?!" Naruto all but screamed, not cooling down one bit. Nanao feverishly thought that if he were to carry on screaming like this, she wouldn't regain her hearing until this Friday. Naruto continued on, oblivious. "Stop taking sides already! And just who was the one who begged me to join and pulled on a sulky look when I refused, huh? _Who_?"

Toushiro sighed and took a seat next to the boy. "Stop pushing the blame on me!" He sighed in exasperation. "And anyways, I don't beg. I _asked_ you to join. Begging is too disregarding." Ignoring the sulky _'Yeah Right'_ from Naruto, Toushiro continued. "And when she says that you're small, she meant the _amount of time_ you spent here Soul Society. You sprit body is small, young, you dimwit."

"Oh." Naruto could only say as he realized what Nanao had actually meant. "But I only spent about three weeks here! What do you expect me to do?! Do gymnastics in that short amount of time? It's outrageous! Impossible! Let me see someone do it first!" He burst out, still frustrated at his body. He would have thrown a desk on it in frustration if it weren't for the fact that that _was_ his body.

Toushiro had to practically lug him all the way back here. In the end, the shorter boy gave up and carried the blond, piggyback style, back. Through the entire Seireitei with hundreds of Shinigamis watching. It was not everyday in which you can see the impassive, cold third seat carrying someone picked off from Rukongai. It was extremely embarrassing, Toushiro being the shorter boy after all. Naruto leaned closer to Toushiro and hurriedly whispered. " Oei Shorty, did anyone actually _managed_ to do that? Regaining their limbs in a week?"

"No." Toushiro rolled his eyes. It was so like Naruto to sprout out nonsense and not even thinking about the after effects of his words. "They all took at least a month to walk without stumbling."

Needless to say about the subject, Nanao was surprised. Exceptionally flabbergasted. "Three weeks?! Only three _weeks_? And you're...able to move?!"

"Yeah, I mean, I still stumble and all that, but at least I still can move around. At the very least, I can crawl though." Naruto pouted. "This sprit body sucks. What I would give to have my old body back..."

"_That_ is the reason I had recommended him." Toushiro said, glaring at Nanao. "What? You think I'm so useless as to find someone who could only do simple swordfight moves like that Abarai?"

"…And I could only take four steps when I was 3 weeks old…" Nanao said faintly. She snapped out of her daze and rubbed her palms with glee as she turned to the third seat of division ten. "We have gotten a rare find, haven't we? Hitsugaya…Good job."

"Hey, HEY! So can I be a shinigami already or not?!" Naruto shouted, not at all happy about being forgotten by the two seated Shinigamis.

"Thank you, Ise-san." Toushiro said lightly, ignoring Naruto's previous sentence. The two of them turned to face Naruto. Nanao gave her verdict.

"Of course you can." Nanao smiled. "Why shouldn't we let you? You're a talented kid, all right. Although...there are a few minor changes to be made..." She straightened her glasses and smiled at Naruto.

"Hey, don't talk about me like I'm part of some interesting species-"Naruto began his rant but stop short at the two pairs of evil eyes staring at him. "W-What?" He stuttered out nervously.

Nanao smiled kindly at him. "First off, you don't even know a thing about what a Shinigami can do. Secondly, you can't even gain control of your nerves. A Shinigami deal with a lot of fighting, so you better make sure your spirit can coordinate properly with your body. With that being said, take good care of him, Hitsugaya." Nanao finished her speech and nodded at the platinum haired kid.

"Eh? Why me?" Toushiro groaned. He did_ not_ want to train that brat. Nanao just raised an eyebrow in a silent _'why should it not be you?' _Toushiro sighed, knowing that that was probably what his captain would ask him to do as well. "Well…I suppose this could be fun then. Come on Naruto, let's go."

"Go? Go where?" Naruto stood up shakily and began following Toushiro. 'I_ don't get what they're talking at all...'_ He thought, his brain rather boggled at the discussion. He silently accepted a pair of higher quality metal crutches from Nanao. "O-Oei! Shorty! Slow down, you idiot! I can't keep up! Where are we going anyways?"

The white haired boy turned around and smirked." To your training, with _ME,_ obviously. We'll have to loosen up your body a bit, haven't we? Shinigami-to-be? "

"You...train me?" Naruto repeated. The thought of it was so unbelievable, Naruto's foot twisted accidentally itself at the next step and he fell flat on his face against the hard floor with a loud crash.

Nanao snickered and Toushiro was seriously reconsidering the training. _'Ungrateful little brat…' _He thought sulkily as the blond heaved himself up, chest still heaving with uncontrollable laughter. _'I'll give you a training you won't forget…!'_

* * *

"Okay, pay attention. The basic weapon of a shinigami is his sword, or zanpakuto." Toushiro gestured at the sword hanging over his shoulders. "You _won't_ find a shinigami without it, understand?"

"Is that all?" Naruto asked. "So you guys are just swordsmen? Then what if your swords broke? That's got to be pathetic!"

" It's not likely that the sword will break since it's made up of Seireitei's hardest sprit particles, but of course we can do other attacks too, moron. There's Kidou, but it's rather troublesome to use, and it's for mid-range distances only. If you're good enough, you can use it for longer-range attacks. Kidou branches into two types- Hadou, for attacks, and Bakudo, for binding or shielding."

"Sorry to say this... but your explanation is way too complicated even for Kakashi." Naruto looked genuinely confused. "All I could understand is you can also attack with something called ' Kibo'."

"It's Kidou, you idiot. At least get the name right!" Toushiro sighed, realizing instantly that Naruto was the type that sucked a lot at theory work, and understood better when it's 'hands-on' activities. "Okay, just look here. I'll demonstrate once for you only, alright?" Still a bit confused, Naruto backed off a bit to give Toushiro some space. He watched at the boy stretch out his right palm at took aim on one of the targets in the distance, his left hand supporting and guiding his right.

Toushiro glanced at Naruto. "You take the required stance, and concentrate your reiatsu to your palm." Naruto nodded as Toushiro sucked in a deep breath and started chanting a long incarnation. _"Oh ruler, mask of flesh and blood, all creations of the universe, fluttering of the wings, ye who bears the name of man! Truth and temperance, strike but slightly your claw upon this wall, which feigns ignorance of sin! Hadou no san-ju-san, Soukatsui!"_

A blue flame shot out of Toushiro's extended palm and flew toward the distance, crushing the target board on the way and disappearing out of sight. Naruto could hear a small explosion ring out far off. "Must we really have to say that long incarnation? I mean, when you're saying it, it leaves you open for the enemy to attack."

Toushiro blinked. Naruto could catch up really fast, already spotting the flaw of using Kidou. "That's exactly why I said it was troublesome to do, weren't you listening to me just now?"

"But using hand seals are faster…" Naruto mumbled. "And I'm not really good at wielding a sword at all...damn, I'm in deep shit."

"You _could_ just say the Kidou number and its name only, but it'll decrease the attack strength. Will that do?" Toushiro said, not knowing what hand seals are so he entirely ignored that comment. Is it some weird ninja technique? Whatever. Frankly speaking, he doesn't care.

"...Is that all you can do?" Naruto asked, looking mortified. "'Cause if that's all, then I'll have to quit. This whole thing is rather lame since Kidou isn't really the right thing for me, and I don't really trust a measly sword to last me in a battle."

"Hey! I take that as an insult." Toushiro protested, but knowing that Naruto was pissed off at having to do skills which he wasn't exactly good at. "You'll find out sooner or later- winning the battle all depends on your sword. Better learn how to rely on it Naruto."

"It's lame. Stop suggesting any more nonsense; I don't depend on weapons." Naruto stated, crossing his arms in defiance to further exaggerate on his dissent. "What if one fine day, I just _forgot_ to bring my sword? It'll be terrible, since I also suck at remembering long old granny chants." Toushiro immediately had to tell himself to calm down and not strangle Naruto to his death. Insulting a Shinigami's abilities like that...!

"The next thing a shinigami can do is hand-to-hand combat, or Hakuda." He said loudly, trying to steer off the topic on Naruto and his distaste for swords. Because the more he hear Naruto criticizing on the 'patheticness of swords', the more he had to remind himself that Naruto is his responsibility and that he should _not_ injure him.

"I can do hand-to-hand combat already." Naruto said, and then paused to correct his mistake. "I mean, I _could_ do hand-to-hand combat. I'll have to get used to this body first before I can do it again."

_'Figures_' Toushiro thought. The boy was a ninja after all. And if he remembered correctly, then ninjas were those who moved around a lot, good at stealth (he couldn't believe that Naruto was one at first because of that, but the captains did not budge) and throw weapons. It seems that they specialize in a lot of close combat, which would explain Naruto's distaste of long swords.

He introduced the final move. "The last form of fighting is through Shunpo, or flash step." _Now_ did Naruto look interested. "Okay, I'll demonstrate this one for you. Look closely. First, you cover your Reiatsu with your entire body, position where you want to go, and release it." Toushiro did so and appeared behind Naruto in an instant with relative ease.

"Hey, that looks like..." Naruto racked his brains for the correct jutsu name. "You can do body flicker, shushin, too!?" Naruto gasped.

"If that's what you ninjas call shunpo, then yes." Toushiro said, surprised that ninjas too have the ability to do that move. Weren't they supposed to be human?

"All of you? Every single Shinigami?" Naruto asked.

"You need to be able to do it five times in succession in order to be a shinigami." Toushiro replied evenly.

"In Konoha, we can only so it once, not in sequence, unless you're really that good…" Naruto sulked. "Man, you shinigami are cheaters…"

Toushiro smirked. "Well, we _are_ known as Death _Gods_ after all...but take note that you have to aim at where you're going, so this isn't a real long distance teleportation technique. It just makes you move at very high speeds." Naruto nodded, already knowing this piece of information. He could also do that in the past too; limited usage of course, but Toushiro needn't know that.

"Okay, now, we move back to zanjutsu." Toushiro interrupted Naruto's musings. "Like I said, this is the main attack of all Shinigami. Each and every shinigami have a Zanpakuto, and everyone's is different. It can change into two forms. One is Shikai, and in order to activate it, you need to be able to contact your Zanpakuto and find out its name. The secondary form is Bankai, and only captains, and in some cases, vice captains or seated officers too, are able to activate it. Instead of _going_ to your mindscape, you need to make your Zanpakuto materialize _into _this world. And force it to respect and obey you."

" I...can't catch up with you." Naruto said blankly, all he heard was a strange jumble of words like ' bangai' and ' zanban'. _Huh?_ "Can't you show me a demonstration?"

"No." Toushiro said without even considering. "A squirt like you is not worthy to see my zanpakuto."

Muttering about stuck up white haired bastards, Naruto asked the boy, though grumbling a bit. "Question: How do you obtain your own personal Zanpakuto? Pick them off the shelf?"

"I'll lead you to the Zanpakuto room next time." Toushiro said hurriedly after checking the time and finding out that he took more time in the explanation than planned. Sheesh, had he just wasted unnecessary saliva for the blond? "Now, however, you can't do any of the above without regaining control of your limbs. You do that now, and then you can do the others. So start doing push-ups now. Arm muscle coordination, you know?"

"Man…you suck. You know fairly well that I have no problem with my upper body." Naruto dropped down and began his exercise, wondering how many he could do in this body. He did manage to hit the hundreds the last time. Toushiro had settled himself on a grass patch nearby and was leaning comfortably against the rock, watching Naruto sweat it out with a face of indifference. Let the boy work out on how he could sync with his body by himself.

Naruto, however, had other things on his mind. Chakra and Reiatsu…how different were they? He knew that chakra was made up of two elements: spiritual energy and physical energy. Now, he only had spiritual energy in him, an equivalent to Reiatsu (from what he could deduce from Toushiro's speech), so he'll just have to work with that. He hoped that he have enough of it. The reason he had a lot of chakra was because of his extraordinary stamina. Stamina isn't going to help him out here. And he couldn't sense the fox inside of him at all.

'_So that means I'll still be able to do my Justus, and also learn how to do those of the shinigami's…'_ He thought. And then he smirked. 'Use every power at your disposal' was what Jiraiya had always taught him. Kyuubi was gone, yes, but new moves and Reiatsu is here.

"_Let's see what I can do with that, then_."

-TBC-

* * *

Chapter done! And really, thanks for your support, everyone!

**Vocabulary:**

**Kibo**-- Scale, scope, structure

**Bangai**- Extra

**Zanban**- Garbage

Here's the reply for a few reviews (please don't get too upset that I didn't reply to yours, I didn't really have enough time, see):

_Azalie-Kauriuand: can i ask, r u ever goin 2 give us an update of wat happened with the rest of the ninjas?_

**Yuzuki-sama:** The ninjas won't be appearing until the center part of the story, so sorry! I don't really have any ideas on them, but don't worry, they'll come out. Just wait and be patient.

_Ryuuki Kisaki: Exactly how old is Naruto in this? You mentioned that he was in ANBU, so I assume he's at least 18 or so, but I was just wondering if you could give an exact age. I know it's probably not particularly important to the story or anything, I'm just curious._

**Yuzuki-sama**: I haven't really thought of and exact age yet, but I'd say he's about 17 to 18? Oh yes, and he was an absolutely splendid ANBU when he was alive- in my story at least.

See you next chapter!


	5. Trump Card

OMG! You guys review fast!

Here's the next chapter as promised. I know the last one was a bit draggy. And short. So I made this one a little bit longer.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

**Chapter 5: **

**奥の手****(OKUNOTE) Trump Card**

* * *

A month of training had passed already and Naruto was adapting well to his new body. He'll just need to regain perfect control of his limbs and Hakuda would be a breeze for him. After all, when he was still alive, taijutsu was one of his main attacking styles. Now, he could control his body much more efficiently then he could before. Except his muscles just won't seem to listen to him when he was placed under stress and usually goes out of control during critical moments of his spars with Toushiro, leaving him open for the other boy to land numerous hits on him. Needless to say, Toushiro took the chances callously. To get hit repeatedly by someone shorter than you...

Now, he was currently practicing controlling his Reiatsu whenever Toushiro was out busy on missions and not supervising him on his body control. Being sneaky as usual...Toushiro did tell him not to start on Reiatsu control until he could get Hakuda done first, since it is also important during a swordfight...somewhat.

'_If reiatsu is a simpler form of chakra, then I should have plenty of those…'_ Was the only thought that came out from his mind. _'Then why can't I just DO the stupid freaking Rasengan!?'_ He mentally yelled as the energy collecting on his right palm burst for the twentieth time in a row. It was like trying to learn how to master the rasengan all over again.

_'Don't tell me...' _The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Reiatsu is _spiritual. _His extraordinary stamina from before_,_ almost ninety percent of his chakra came from his physical energy. "Nooooo…a-all the jutsus that I worked so hard to master is useless here…" Naruto cried in agony and slid, sobbing to the floor. "My prized jutsus..." He cried, banging his fists onto the ground.

First he couldn't even control his own body, screwing up in fights that he could have easily won last time. Next he found out that Soul Society is going all out to get him under their control, deleting his memories, slowly too, and he was already struggling to keep them inside his brain. Thirdly, the odds were against him and now he found himself _somehow _committed to be a shinigami, helping those black clothed geezers _balance_ the world or whatever they call it. Now, he found out that he can't use his full strength when he was still alive because having insanely high physical energy would mean nothing in this world at all. "Damn it!" He cried out and continued with the banging of fists.

"ITAI!" He yelled as his left knuckle scratched against the one of the many jagged rocks on display on the floor. He carefully nursed his wrist and childishly stuck a tongue out at the offending rock. It was all Toushiro's fault, for making him train in such a rocky, barren land, where a few of the only living forms of life would be the small patch of green grass and a medium sized tree in the center of it at the edge of the training grounds- where Toushiro usually sat under during training time, forbidding him to even touch a blade of grass there, claiming that the entire space was his. That selfish, stingy, prick.

Naruto inspected his cut curiously. "Damn this sprit bod-"He stopped his growing rant halfway and his eyes widened. Slowly but surely, he could feel a slight tug as his reiatsu subconsciously began to repair the wound. It seems that after the many times Kyuubi did it for him, his body had an automatic reaction to healing the cuts by itself.

"I can't believe it! I tried forcing chakra out of my hands and they burst out unexpectedly, but I'm not even bothering about it and it heals my wounds perfectly!" Naruto exclaimed in shock. Then he cooled down and grumbled. "For the hundredth time, I hate my body. Keeping important secrets like this from me..."

* * *

"Well done, Hitsugaya. How is his progress?" The Commander-General of the Gotei thirteen asked.

"He has already regained control of eighty percent of his limbs. His synchronization with his body is going excellently so far, but it only freezes up when he is undergoing great pressure, usually when battling." Toushiro indifferently reported to the other captains, looking not at all affected, being surrounded by powerhouses.

"Excellent. And his memory status?" Yamamoto asked. "We will want to erase his memory as soon as possible."

Toushiro froze up at the General's words. "It seems like he is still able the remember some of his past, but don't worry. It'll fade with time." He said coolly, and half-lied. It seems that up to now, Naruto would still blabber on and on to him about some of his friends or parts of his past life. "If you don't mind me asking, why is wiping his memory so important?"

"Usually, we wipe away memories of other Shinigamis so that they will not feel attached to the other world, or otherwise reminisce when being sent to the mortal world, causing them to neglect or blotch their missions up. Or they will not disobey orders or turn against us when someone from their past influences them." Yamamoto smiled. The sentence spoken next was what surprised the third seat the most.

"But wiping the memory of Uzumaki Naruto is crucial because he is going to be one of Seireitei's most powerful tool."

"Yosh! We'll start with basic chakra control exercises again!" Naruto jumped up and formed the ram seal in habit, concentrating on searching for his chakra-or reiatsu- and bringing it forward. '_Remember, there's no physical energy inside you right now, so don't mold it_.' He told himself.

'Aha!' He thought as he finally could feel some reiatsu being stored at the back of his mind. He slowly brought if forward. To his surprise, more came out to automatically replenish the ones he took out.

'So, all the reiatsu is being stored there, huh?' Naruto grinned as he used the ones he had drawn out to replenish his empty chakra coils. Ahhh…now his body felt better and more relaxed, with chakra- correction, reiatsu all around him once again. '_Reiatsu!_' He told himself again. 'It's called reiatsu now!'

Naruto smirked in anticipation, eager to start experimenting with his newly found stock of reiatsu reserves. "Alright, let's get started, then."

* * *

"…A- A tool, sir?!" Toushiro gasped out. He really did like that blond. To turn him into a mindless machine for soul society's binding...somehow, it never seemed to fit Naruto. That guy wasn't the kind that would willingly obey others.

"The reason why we even allow his soul to enter Soul Society is because of that very reason." Yamamoto said, his voice growing more sterner with each passing second, as though daring anyone to contradict his orders. "Did you think that Soul Society is as easy going as to let his kind enter this plane as freely as they like?"

"To make him into Soul Society's trump card?" Toushiro asked incredulously. _What kind of twisted logic is this? _Usually, Toshiro have no complains about Yamato's orders- they have logical reasons to back them up. And he was the kind who follows the facts. But for this case, he felt that though logical, this process wasn't at all necessary. Soul Society was strong enough- there wasn't any need for any tools.

Yamamoto smiled slightly. "You should be glad, Hitsugaya. Naruto is the _first ever_ shinobi permitted to enter this plane of existence."

That was the final straw. "You can't just choose someone of your liking and train them to do your bidding-!" Toushiro started to protest, but stopped halfway after realizing what he had just did. He had questioned the general's orders. He, Hitsugaya Toushiro, one of the most uncaring and obedient shinigami around, questioned the General. If the room was quiet before, now it was deathly silent. A pin drop could be heard with the upmost ease.

"Hitsugaya! Know your position!" scolded Soifon, captain of the 2nd division. Toushiro immediately lowered his gaze, slightly abashed but still obstinate.

"My apologies." He muttered, realizing that he crossed his boundaries. Why did he just do that? A month ago, he wouldn't be standing up for the noisy brat. Just let him get manipulated, I don't care. That would what probably be his thought last time. Was he getting soft? "I will take my leave now." After bowing to the captains in the room, he respectfully back stepped out of the room. Once out of the captains' reach, he immediately shunpo-ed over to where he held Naruto's training.

"I won't let them take away your memories, baka. Not if I can help it."

* * *

"Okay, I got the extraction part down…now lets try out the summoning, shall we?" Naruto copied the movement of what Toushiro had showed him a month ago. He held out his right hand and placed his left over it, grasping it firmly while supporting it at the same time. Then he concentrated for a moment before releasing the reiatsu in one go. The chunk of reiatsu, with no form, shape or colour whatsoever, flew out from his palm only to disperse wispily into the air.

"…That can't be right…" Naruto stared at his hand and muttered.

All captains stared at Toushiro's retreating figure.

"Are you sure this is alright?" Tousen asked, though his voice held no worry inside it at all, despite what he had said.

"He'll be fine." Kurosaki Isshin, standing opposite to him, replied lightly. "Toushiro's a logical boy. He trusts the facts, furthermore, he's in my division, and I know him best."

"He looks like he's attached to that Uzumaki kid." Juushiro stated. "What exactly is so special about that boy anyway? Ninjas may be rare, yes, but there's nothing remarkable about them. Unless you count their stealth or trickery. _That_ they excel a lot in."

"And that's the part where you're wrong, Ukitake tai-chou." Mayuri, the one captain with the most information stored in his brain, couldn't resisted not taking part in this conversation. Thinking of all the juicy information he had in mind, he snickered out loud as he hear some really stupid suggestions given by other captains. Poor naive people...

"In what way?" Jushiro asked, curious, though slightly annoyed at the twelfth division's captain for acting like an insufferable know-it-all. The other captains too, turned their head to face the scientist, all interested, though people like Byakuya, Tousen and Soifon tried to at least hide their interest with a mask of indifference.

"Allow me to explain." Mayuri cleared his throat before starting to begin one of his long explanations but turned inquiringly at Yamato first. Yamamoto gave a slight nod of approval. "A shinobi is one type of human being that discovered how to control their reiatsu. Merging that with their body's physical energy, they form a new kind of energy, which they call chakra. They use chakra to do ninjutsu, and there are numerous ways of manipulating- say, by concentrating it to your feet allows users to stick to an object. Thus, people will say they are tricky and stealthy. Because you'll never expect them to escape though the ceiling by applying chakra to their feet. That is one of the many wonders of chakra-"

"And soul society wants this power because…? Don't tell me it's just for the sake of learning how to stick to the ceilings. That is just plain stupid." Soifon sniffed and interrupted Mayuri's loving 'chakra' speech before it got long-winded and draggy, since that man practically loves, and lives in his world of data and information. But she likes speeches which are straight to the point, thank you very much.

"No, my dear. We only want the specific shinobi called Uzumaki Naruto." Mayuri smiled at her, not at all irritated about being interrupted. "Uzumaki Naruto. There are different ranks a shinobi can have. And Uzumaki is one of the top ninja in his rank, ANBU. Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai. Or the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad. They are the elite. The best. And as their name suggests assassins. But more importantly, they have the finest chakra control and a wide range of techniques at their disposal to be used for fighting."

"And Uzumaki is…the best out of them? Then if you want the best, why can't you just kidnap the leader instead?" Komamura asked, still not seeing the logic.

"Ahhh…well, you see…ANBU treat themselves as tools. They have great loyalty to their country and are willing to sacrifice themselves just for the sake of their missions. The Kage is someone who is used to giving out orders. No, we do not want that. ANBUs are people who _obey_ them."

"Yes. And that makes Uzumaki very easy to manipulate so that he will do our bidding?" Shunsui summarized. "I still don't see why we have to take Uzumaki. From what Toushiro said just now, he is the brash type with limited patience...a not-so-bright boy. That type is one that is not so easily manipulated. It would be much easier if we could take a prodigy like Hitsugaya's type, for example."

"Uzumaki is special. See, he only became the top because he has very high level of chakra. And that is possible only because of his father, who sealed the Kyuubi into him."

"KYUUBI? As in the demon fox lord?" Jyuushiro asked incredulously, wanting to make sure that he heard right. Crazy humans, sealing high level demons into their own kind, tailed ones even. It was suicidal. What if their bodies just couldn't handle the reiatsu those demons held?

"Exactly. Thus, that makes Naruto's reiatsu stores are a hundred times larger then even…say, Zaraki. Of course, it would depend on whether he wants to use that power or not. "

Murmurings could be heard all over the room. "I really want to slice him up now." Zaraki commented, though no one took notice of that. The eleventh squad captain is _always_ looking for people to slice up.

"But I thought that the Kyuubi got extracted out of the boy. No way could a thing like that be permitted to enter here." Isshin still looked lost. "Soul Society's barriers should have automatically rejected the fox, even if it did permit entry to the boy."

"Yes, but-"Mayuri immediately start to answer but was cut off by Yamamoto's cough.

"I think you have given our captains ample information, Mayuri. Thank you for your explanation." Yamamoto smiled. Mayuri went back into his former position and grinned.

"Not at all." He replied slyly, getting the hint, his yellow eyes gleaming behind his mask. Everyone stared at the twelfth squad captain. Mayuri was rather...docile and too polite today.

"With this, today's meeting is finished. I hope you now know about the importance and risks that soul society is making in order for that boy to stay. We are taking a very big gamble over here." Yamamoto sat back down, signaling the end of the meeting. "So please take good care of that boy."

The captains all made their way out, the General's voice still lingering in their minds.

"_If all goes according to plan, then Uzumaki Naruto… he will be our greatest trump card."_

--TBC--

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

And note to my loyal review-ies: I know how much you want to see Naruto's Zanpakuto, but you'll have to wait. I like to drag things. Can't have the zanpakuto appearing here or else it'll seem too rushy.

If you don't like my theories either about the reiatsu raw chakra or the Isshin=Captain theory, then please stop reading. You can't have everything you want in a fic. I know, I have a weird way of linking things.

Oh, and a reply to **greivergf**, who said: _are you going to bring in anyone else from naruto like garra or yugito?what type of zanpato is naruto going to have and what abilites is it going to have? (please dont make it give him back his chakra cause that is overdun)please make the chapters a bit longer maybe 3-4 pages so that it give a bit more to read._

**Yuzuki-sama:** _I don't think that soul society will be able to handle any more jinchuurikis; Naruto is a handful already. :) You'll hafta wait to see his Zanpakuto, I aren't telling you. But it's gonna be cool. (For me. And you too, I hope.)And puur-lease, I'm not so un-creative as to making his shikai power change reiatsu into chakra or something like that. I won't really be giving his chakra back, but he'll take controlling reiatsu to a new level no one else ever accomplished before._

Okay, so stay tuned for the next exciting chapter!


	6. Amateur Fighter

I'm late aren't I? Very late…(--;). Special thanks to Azalie-Kauriu, Ryuuki Kisaki, lady1011, and many more, for being my loyal supporters, and to Silver and White Angels and greivergf for your kind tips.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

Enjoy:

* * *

**Chapter 6- **

**アマチュア戦闘機 Amateur Fighter**

" Etto…Let's see…What did that chibi do to make that fireball…?" Naruto's face was screwed up in concentration. "He said…he said…something like ' blah blah blah… …feigns ignorance of sin, Hadou san-ju-san, Sou-ka-tsui?'"

A small flame shot out of his hand and died out a few seconds later. Naruto looked at it sadly. He already could imagine Sasuke or Jiraiya laughing at him." That won't do…"

" What the hell?!" Came an all-too-familiar voice behind him. Naruto turned around to see a very shocked Toushiro. " Did…did you just do a kidou?" He asked, confused, eyes popping out in disbelief.

" …I did?" Naruto tried looking as confused as Toushiro, but ended up grinning mischievously instead.

" You _DID_!" Toushiro exclaimed. " I saw you!"

" I guessed I did then!" Naruto laughed sheepishly. " It's not really good, I mean…"

" No, it's an excellent start for a beginner." Toushiro adjusted his sword. " Since I didn't instruct you how to do it anyway..." Toushiro stopped midway and as he reached a realization. " HEY! I did NOT teach you anything about reiastu at all! How the hell did you progress into making a fireball? And since when did you learn reiatsu control?!"

" Heheheh...surprised, chibi?" Naruto grinned at the shocked look plastered on Toushiro's face. " Ma, Reiatsu control is super easy for someone as _great_ as _me,_ since you don't have to do any molding at all and my capacity _has_ been reduced by at least eighty percent..." Remembering that, Naruto plopped down on the floor and started bawling his eyes out. " Reduced by eighty percent..._Eighty_!!" He wailed.

Toushiro, who did not understand half of what Naruto was blabbering about found it sort of amusing that the blond started bursting into great sobs after a few minutes of boasting. Soon, his amusement turned to irritation after enduring five minutes of non-stop wailing about 'loosing eighty percent of chakra'. He bonked Naruto on the head with the tip of his sword, which was thankfully sheathed. " Oei! Stop crying already! And you didn't answer my question! Who thought you reiatsu control?"

" No one." Naruto muttered sourly, glaring at Toushiro for smacking him and rubbing the spot where the shorter boy had hit. " I learned it myself. It's just the same as chakra manipulation, and since I mastered _that_ while learning the rasengan..." He trailed off and then switched topics abruptly. " But anyways, who do you think you are huh? Just whacking people on the head with your sword!!"

" Shut up!" Toushiro yelled back. " I thought I instructed you to control your nerves! Do some push-ups! Run a few hundred laps! Not to go and play around with your reiatsu! Didn't you obey my orders? You should be happy a third seater is personally teaching you! You're lucky you're not in the academy or else I'll pound you to death and make you sit in the electric chair!"

" Hey, at least I did something useful, see? Now you can save your crappy reiatsu control explanations for someone else!" Naruto grinned. Then stopped. "Wait. There's an academy for Shinigamis?"

" Yeah…" Toushiro looked at Naruto confused at that oh so obvious question. " What? You deaf or something? I just said so a few seconds ago!"

" Then why aren't I in there?" Naruto asked, but it sounded more like a half shout, half whine, with his loud voice.

" You have extraordinary Reiatsu, thus, you will are having special training with me. There are some things even those Shinigami teachers can't do." He said half-lying. Shinigami teachers are qualified Shinigami after all, though not seated officers. Naruto still looked like he did not believe Toushiro. The white haired boy sighed. What else could he say? _' Oh, I'm your personal tutor so that you could grow up and become Seireitei's weapon.'_? " Do you_ want_ to go into the academy?" He asked instead.

" No." Naruto hastily replied. Urrgh, the ninja academy was a bore to him, imagine going through another couple of years in yet another academy! He'll take the training with Toushiro, thought the boy had an attitude problem and the fact that his 'teacher' is shorter that him.

" Good. So don't ask me this stupid question ever again." Toushiro said. '_See? Definitely an attitude problem.' _Naruto pouted. Snapping out of his thoughts on how he was going to torture Toushiro after he became a Shinigami, he noticed an impatient Toushiro glaring at him a few meters away. " What?"

Toushiro threw a bamboo sword, a shinai, at him and took out his own. Naruto caught the shinai out of the air automatically, out of reflex, and looked at his quizzically.

" You know how to use a sword, right? I heard that ninjas were trained in swordsmanship." Toushiro drawled and got into stance. " Then let's test out your kenjutsu."

" Kenjustsu huh?" Naruto smirked, sanding up and getting into his own stance, realizing that Toushiro wanted a spar. Finally, some action. His muscles were getting sore. " That brings me back to my old ANBU days…Kakashi-sensei tortured me on that one."

" Don't get too cocky!" Toushiro called out and charged.

" I'm NOT!" Naruto sprinted forwards.

The two sticks met with a clash.

* * *

Toushiro smirked at the pouting blonde on the floor. The fight was going well at the beginning, and Naruto managed to block and sometimes even countering Toushiro's shinai efficiently, despite not being an actual Shinigami himself. Sadly though, Naruto's ankle had twisted oddly in at the last second, allowing Toushiro's shinai to slam down onto his head, hard. That signaled the end of their short fight.

" I hate you…" Naruto growled, now sporting a large bump on his head.

" Told you not to get too cocky." Toushiro smirked, pleased of his victory.

" It's my stupid ankle!" Naruto whined. " Tell that to my stupid nerves!"

" That just means that you have a very slow brain." Toushiro snorted. "You can't even control your own _nerves, _thought I think I shouldn't really be surprised. Your brain has always been slow."

" I really hate you, you know that, chibi?"

Toushiro deliberately ignored him. From his fight, Toushiro was a bit surprised that Naruto knew how to use a sword properly. He wasn't brandishing it like an amateur. Naruto knew how to correctly position the sword to kill, or cleave the opponent into two. A pity Seireitei was too impatient and took him in early. If not, Toushiro wouldn't have to be stuck here trying to correct the blonde's nervous system.

" Kenjutsu check, now let's go, nincompoop." Toushiro walked off.

" To where?" Naruto whined, still sore at being beaten by a shorty.

" To get your Zanpakuto, silly."

* * *

" Yo, Hitsugaya. You're late."

Toushiro did not bother greeting him, but instead, replied to the speaker's latter sentence. " Sorry, but this guy," he jabbed a thumb at Naruto, who stood pouting behind him, " is too slow for his own good." He casually walked forwards to unlock the heavily bolted door that stood behind the first speaker. The jingling of keys could be heard as Toushiro got to work on figuring out which key unlocked which bolt. A very troublesome task.

The other Shinigami smirked and stepped forward. " So, you're Uzumaki huh?"

Naruto stared at the Shinigami in front of him. His stock of red hair was tied up into a ponytail and he had on a pair of expensive looking glasses lying on this forehead. What was more shocking still, his eyebrows were tattooed on and Naruto could even see some more peeking out of his robes. If he had the byakugan, he'd bet that his entire body was covered with them.

" And who are you?" He asked hotly. He hated people who knew his name and he didn't know theirs. Do all Shinigamis make it a habit to study each and every personal file of everyone in Soul Society?

" That's Abarai Renji, a fellow third seater, but of the 6th division." Toushiro replied absently as he unlocked the bolts one by one, knowing fully well that Renji wouldn't give up his name and position so easily. Renji grinned, and shifted his glasses, raising his right hand in a silent 'yo'.

Naruto just stared at this strange Shinigami- the second one he seen, since he was training in isolation with only a bratty Toushiro for company. This Shinigami too, had rather...unique qualities. Tattoo and red hair with expensive sunglasses? Naruto expect it was only because it made them stand out, since they all wear the same black uniform every single day anyway.

" Hey, this guy's not bad, Hitsugaya. How good is his kenjutsu?" Renji looked at Toushiro. " Since you're bringing here after all."

" He passed on his first try, academy standard." Toushiro grunted, as one of the rustier locks broke open with a loud clack. " Which isn't saying much, since that was the only test I've given him and I didn't know his full capability yet. And you forgot my honorific. Never address me _without_ my horrific."

" Ehh? But the academy standard is rather low..." Renji looked at Naruto, who was shorter than him, not seeming as though he had heard Toushiro's last few sentences." How 'bout I give you another test, huh? What do you say, Hitsugaya?"

" _San_. Am I your friend? No. So its Hitsugaya-_san_." Toushiro replied, though not answering Renji's question at all. " But 'sama' is also fine though."

" Hey, but I'm justas high ranked than you." Renji pointed out. "And you never address me like that at all."

" Whatever." Toushiro rolled his eyes. The final lock clacked open and the large heavy set of double doors swung open. " The room's open, let's go inside."

* * *

" Brooding? That's not like ya at all, Aizen-taichou." Gin walked up beside his former captain.

" Is it? So I can't brood if I want too?" Aizen smiled at his fellow partner. " I was just wondering about that newcomer…"

" Ahh…that makes me wonder too. It sets our plans back, doesn't it? Shinobis are just troublesome flies that flutter about, meddling and messing around." Gin said thoughtfully. " But since those people plan to make him into a weapon, I expect he won't have enough freedom to interfere at all. So what's so worrying about?"

" No, that boy is merely a nuisance to my plans. A hindrance perhaps, but his naïve nature will give us an advantage. I'm not interested in him one bit. And, I'm not _worried_." Aizen said coolly. " He's nothing worth worrying for. I can easily dispatch him later."

" Maybe. But I usually found out that naïve people hate to be tricked. Then they'll lose their temper and go all out on you."

" And that's why I love them. Their emotions will interfere and they have more openings that way." Aizen smirked, thinking of his fifth seater, Hinamori. Gin frowned.

" Hey, we're going off topic here. What evil thoughts are you scheming up this time, Aizen-_sama_?"

" I was just wondering…those souls laced with chakra…just how powerful will they be if they are turned into hollows?"

" Ahh…I see…another wicked hollow experiment huh? As if you didn't do plenty of those before."

* * *

" Wow…" Naruto breathed as he stepped inside the room and slowly took in his surroundings. He vaguely heard the door close shut behind him. The room was surrounded with a white mist. But behind the mist, he could see thousands of vague outlines swords, all scattered across the room, their blades shining as they protruded out of the ground.

" These are Zanpakuto used for extreme cases or in case of an emergency. Normally, you'll automatically have one right after you graduate from the academy and become a Shinigami, but since you're not going there at all, you'll have to pick one of these." Renji explained. " These are specially built incase there's a shortage of Zanpakuto of if a Shinigami's Zanpakuto is broken until it cannot be repaired. The sword only, not the sprit itself. Then they'll come here, to find a new form for the sprit to stay."

" So I can just go and pick any one of these?" Naruto asked excitedly, not at all listening to Renji's speech. " Then…I'll have that one!" He reached out for a highly polished, sleek black katana on his left and tried to yank it out. It didn't budge at all. " What the…come on! I want you! You're like, the coolest sword around here!" Naruto pulled at it harder, his heels digging into the floor. Toushiro sighed. The sword still didn't move. Renji smirked, amused at the blonde's antics. The sword stayed rooted to its spot, unmoving.

" Please…think of what that Sasuke-teme will say if sees this!!" Beads of sweat trickled down his face. Renji looked a little surprised at that sentence. Who was this 'Sasuke'? Not any Shinigami he'd ever heard off. To his right, Toushiro sighed quietly and closed his eyes, letting the vice-captain handle this.

" FINE!" Naruto huffed and kicked the stoic black sword. " I don't want you anymore! You can go kiss Sasuke (who is frighteningly similar to you) for all I care! I'll have…aha! I'll take you then!" Naruto rushed and tried to yank out a gold plated, majestic looking sword on his left. Before he knew it, the sword released a strong current at the slightest touch and zapped Naruto. Toushiro slapped his forehead as Renji guffawed loudly.

" You moron. You can't just choose any sword you want!" Toushiro said. " You have to find a sword that is compatible with your reiatsu, dumbass."

" Then what do I do? Walk around and start plugging out every sword in this room?" Naruto sat up and shouted, exasperated. "Can't we just move on to Kidou next? I don't really get to this Zanjutsu thingy...I am seriously not psyched up about this thing one bit."

" What did you say?!" Renji screeched into Toushiro's ear, spraying the white-haired boy with bits of spit. " Hitsugaya! What have you been teaching your student!? A Shinigami is nothing without a Zanpakuto! It is what makes them unique! It is our life!"

" …"

Toushiro removed his earplugs and summarized to Naruto." In other words, he means no."

"You guys suck…" Naruto muttered. " Hiding behind pieces of metal. Who in the world is stupid enough to even _depend_ on pieces of metal? Yeah, kunais are useful, but they can break too, right?"

" They're not just any metal!" Renji screamed, angry at that insolent boy.

" You'll get what we mean _after_ you get your sword." Toushiro smirked. " In the meantime, you should try spreading out your reiatsu and find a sword that matches your own."

" And…how do I do that?" Naruto asked.

" Concentrate." Toushiro closed his eyes and white ribbons appeared around him. Naruto observed him curiously. That was...something new. Then they faded away as Toushiro re-opened his eyes. " These are sprit threads. You can locate the reiatsu of your sword more easily like this." Toushiro explained, crossing his arms. " Now let's see if you can try it. Only top ranking Shinigamis are able to, you know."

" Spread out your reiastu right? Okay..." Out of habit, Naruto clasped his hand into a ram seal and concentrated. The particles around the air began swirling around him rapidly.

Renji shouted." Hitsugaya! Are you out of your mind? He'll die of reiatsu depletion! Only seated officers are able to do this! Never has anyone lower than that been-"

Toushiro stopped him mid-sentence. " You just watch him, Abarai."

Slowly, the particles began solidifying to form white ribbons. Naruto reached out and sorted through them. Renji could only gaped in amazement. " Not this…not this…not this…" Naruto absently muttered.

" That's impossible…" Renji whispered weakly.

" THIS ONE!" Naruto opened his eyes and ran to the direction of the thread he had just caught hold off.

" Are you coming, Abarai?" Toushiro walked after Naruto. " Let's see what kind of sword he'll get. It should be interesting, knowing the type of person he is."

" …Yeah. An interesting person he is…" Renji muttered dazedly.

* * *

" Heh heh…" Naruto chuckled, admiring his newly acquired tachi that was glittering in the open sunlight. The 78-centimeter sword's hilt was wrapped in bandages, leaving only the tip open. It had a simple square tsuba. Naruto shifted it from hand to hand and examined it closely.

" Naruto! Come eat your lunch already!" Toushiro called. Renji snorted as Naruto sat down and immediately started wolfing the onigiris down, stuffing his face as usual, and looking as though he had not eaten in a few days.

" So how's your new tachi?" Renji asked. " You seemed kind of curious about it. Never seen one before?"

" Nah…but I usually used to use a Ninjato, which is only 50-centimeters long…this tachi is quite long…" Naruto glanced at the now sheathed sword hanging hilt-down from his obi. Like all other tachi does. Usually, students receives their actual swords as a graduation present, but for Naruto's case, since they did not have any more swords to spare, Yamamoto had given Naruto approval to find one for himself, asking vice-captain Renji to guide him.

" You'll get used to it." Renji waved a unconcerned hand. "I like longer swords anyway."

" But close combat was my forte!" Naruto protested. "This stupid thing makes unsheathing take up too much time. And the range is much longer than the one I'm used to. Isn't this kinda of a... mismatch?"

" Stop whining and used to it, baka. You're going to have to stick with it during battles whether you like it or not." Toushiro said, fed up with the whining. Naruto was never pleased, unless eating ramen.

" I got it…I got it…" Naruto sighed, crammed the last of the onigiri into his mouth and walked off. " So now I'm off to train! Ja Ne!"

" I'll be going too then, Abarai. I need to meet the captain. Inform him of Naruto's sword and all that sort of crap you know?" Toushiro stood up and brushed himself down. Renji did not move from his spot.

" Hey, Hitsugaya." Toushiro turned to look at Renji quizzically. " How is it that Uzumaki still manage to retain his memories?"

" He is just special in that way." Toushiro smirked and turned to walk off, before stopping and turning to Renji somewhat worriedly. " You won't tell the captains, will you?"

Renji felt a grin start to emerge. " Nah. Telling them captains would just spoil the fun."

-TOC-

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If you don't like how this story is going, please stop reading immediately. Don't give bad comments on how I portray my characters, please. I get hurt very easily.

_Pein-sama: is it really okay to OVERpower Naruto a bit too much. If that's so i truly hope you have a überstrong opponent in mind because it won't be fun if Naruto was to strong and there was no one to fight him_

_Yuzuki-sama: Don't worry, Pein-sama, but Naruto won't be too powerful in here, I hope. I'm still deciding on how high his level will be. I'll try my best to tone down a bit. But he hasn't got into any fights yet, so you won't really know his capability._

The next chapter might take a while, so ta-ta for now!


	7. Finally Graduated

OMG…you guys sure can review…(OoO)!

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Presenting chapter 7:

**最終的に累進的 ****(****saishuu teki ni ruishin teki)**** Finally Graduated.**

" Okay, remember, keep cool, and be patient. Don't explode or give in to their insults, they like to do that a lot. And make sure that your tachi is always angled forty-five degrees to the right, 'cause I think they're gonna attack first, so your defense better be strong, and-" Toushiro was muttering hurriedly to Naruto. Naruto rolled his eyes as the two of them walked briskly forward towards the tenth division's extra large dojo.

" Yes, dearie." Naruto absently waved his hand, doing a fine impersonation of a sweet old granny. " Stop breathing down my neck, please." Anyone who saw that would have cracked up, laughing, but sadly, Toushiro wasn't just _anyone_. Toushiro was really vexed up about Naruto's Shinigami qualification exam. Naruto vaguely wondered why. Toushiro stopped halfway in his speech and glared at him.

" I'm just giving advice to you! So shut up and listen!" He snapped, and then carried on talking rapidly. " Make sure _not_ to go full power on them at the beginning, that'll give you some advantage later on. And please, don't do anything foolish, I don't want to have to train you for another year."

" Hai, hai." Naruto snickered at the white-hair next to him. " I'll be a good boy…" He said as he walked through a set of heavy oak doors, stretching his arm muscles as he did. " This will be a piece of cake. After all, I _am_ the great Uzumaki Naruto."

" Just make sure you don't fail. It'll ruin my reputation." Toushiro said, ignoring Naruto's last sentence. As the doors slowly began to swing shut, he continued on. " You're my first student, so if you fail, I'll be waiting at the other end to chop your head off. Imagine the amount of embarrassment I have to go through afterwards..."

" So your reputation is more important than my safety!?" Naruto, who was already inside the room, turned around and screeched at the boy, who was supposedly his 'teacher'. " And you still call me your student! What kind of mentor are you?!"

"I don't care if you're severely injured or dead or whatever, but you better PASS!" Toushiro yelled back, then stepped back as the doors slowly swing shut, signaling the start of the exam. " See you later! I'll be waiting at the other end with my sword ready just in case you _did_ fail."

" How dare you!" Naruto screamed back and made it to dash to the door and strangle his white-haired 'mentor', but just as he sprinted there, the doors were already closed tight and bolted, and his fingernails scrapped uselessly against the hard wood. " Damn him." Naruto fumed, and looked around, still muttering to himself. " I'll get him one day...after I pass this exam and become a Shinigami, that is." Speaking of which, Naruto spotted two Shinigamis standing in the center of the room.

" So…are we ready to begin?" One of then cocked a grin. " I was wondering when the shouting would end. Ahh, good thing you didn't carry on for the entire morning, I don't know what we'll be doing then."

" Go easy on him later, Abarai-kun." The other chided. " I know you're excited about this and all that, but please control your actions. He's just a rookie after all."

"AH!" Naruto pointed a finger at the grinning one. " RENJI! What the hell are you doing, posing as my examiner?! Where did the other one go? You ate him up, didn't you?" Naruto pretended to search around, but since the room was big and completely bare of any furniture, there wasn't much to find search at all. " Reji, where did you hide him?" Naruto whined. "You shouldn't abuse other people's examinees...!"

"Idiot! I _am_ your examinee!" Renji's grin slowly slid down his face, to be replaced with look somewhere between a pout and a frown. " What are _you_ doing?!" He hurried over to Naruto and hissed to the blonde. " Moron! Stop that!"

" What?" Naruto asked, confused. " What did I do?"

" I don't know you!" Renji hurriedly whispered fiercely. " Got that? I never met you _at all_. Never in my entire life, my past life or even in my next life!"

" But Renji-kun! We're best friends!" Naruto faked a hurt look, though already knowing where the redhead was getting at. _'Trying to act cool, huh? Well sorry, but I aren't helping you do that.'_ " I am greatly hurt!"

" You idiot! You ruined my most intimidating moment!" Renji screeched. " I am supposed to look 'nerve-racking' and all that kind of stuff, you know?"

"Che! Not like being intimidating would scare me anyway. I've seen stuff way scarier than that, trust me." Naruto scoffed. "And anyways, your face is so ugly, I don't think you'll manage to pull off an intimidating front without the audience laughing their heads off first."

A nerve was visibly twitching, but before Renji could retort, the second examinee interrupted. " Ano…Abarai-kun…we should start the exam now…" The other Shinigami with a bun whispered to Renji. The latter immediately stood up, cleared his throat and announced grandly.

" Uzumaki Naruto! You have come here today, to take your Shinigami entrance exams. We are your examinees, Abarai Renji, third-seater of the fifth division and Momo Hinamori, fifth seater of the fifth division! Hinamori will be testing you on your kidou and I will test you on your zanjutsu!" Renji smartly announced. Naruto rudely interrupted him before he could go any further.

" Why not you test me on Kidou instead?" Naruto asked. " The girl looks much more better in swordplay anyway."

Renji coughed. " Zanjutsu is more harder to do than kidou, and as I am a third seat and she is only a fifth-seater, I should put myself in a much more dangerous position by testing you on your Zanjutsu instead as there is a risk of getting injured or cut…"

" Isn't it the other way round? I had a harder time with kidou though…you're a weird one, Renji." Naruto remarked thoughtfully. " After all, shikai is not a necessary qualification to pass this exam and Zanjutsu only involves the mad swinging of swords..." Renji's mouth could only open and close as he tried to think of a logical comeback on why he should take zanjutsu without letting Naruto know what this vice-captain's one true weakness is.

Hinamori giggled. " Actually, Renji can't really do any Kidou. And anyway, Kidou is my forte. So just leave it to me, Uzumaki-san."

" URUSAI!" Renji screeched, now blushing furiously. " If you must know, I passed my Kidou, thus, I am qualified to be a seated officer in the first place."

" Oh, I see." Naruto laughed. "Looks like that makes Renji one of the weakest seated officer in Seireitei then. Aaa, getting to captain level would be chicken feet, with these useless dumbos around me." Naruto paused and looked up in amusement at the seething look on Renji's beet red face. "Oh, did I strike a nerve?"

Renji got a mad gleam in his eye. "Bakudo no ichi: Sai!" Naruto's arms were automatically clasped behind his back. Surprised, he lost his balance and fell. " Muahahahaha! Look! I _can_ do kidou!" Renji laughed manically.

" Abarai-kun! The exam hasn't even started yet!" Hinamori gasped in horror. " I told you control your actions..."

" Ha! I'm the examinee; so let's just say that this is part of the exam too." Renji laughed as he found a loophole in the rules. " Now you'll have to go through the exam while wearing that Bakudo around! Challenging eh?"

" You're a stupid third-seater then. A very weak one. weaker than Toushiro if you have to resort to these matters in order to win." Naruto's muffled voice came from the floor as he pushed himself up using his shoulders and knees. "So, are we gonna start this exam? I'm itching for a fight here; Toushiro wasn't a really an interesting and fun opponent...too calculative for my taste."

Renji grinned at the struggling blond, ignoring the insult for once. " Okay, I'll be testing you on your Hakuda and shunpo first. You get through me, and Hinamori will be firing you with Kidou spells. You can either dodge them, or counter them with your own, but no unsheathing of Zanpakutos there. You unsheathe them only after you get past her, I'll take you on with Zanjutsu. You get out of here, you pass."

" Though that door over there?" Naruto squinted. " Okay…no problem." He grinned as he steadied himself on his feet. _'Damn that Bakudo spell…it won't come off…_' He gritted his teeth and glanced at his arms, which was still woodenly clasped behind his back.

" Then, let the Shinigami entrance exam start!" Hinamori declared loudly. Renji immediately sprinted off, charging at Naruto. Who ducked and rolled off at the last minute. Naruto hastily jumped back up, all the while struggling with that invisible bond at his hand.

" This is not the time to stand there like a fool!" Renji yelled, somersaulting, his left foot outstretched. Naruto stumbled away just in time before Renji's foot landed on him.

" Aw, heck who cares!" Naruto hurriedly began making hand seals behind his back, concentrating his reiatsu. _Shibari: Kai!_

" I've gotcha!" Renji screamed, readying a punch to land on Naruto's face. A punch that did not connect. As the smoke cleared, Hinamori gasped out as she saw that Naruto's own fist had caught Renji's. When did he unlock the Bakudo placed on him?

Naruto smirked, panting a little. The last minute jutsu had taken a little bit out of him. Renji grinned. This guy sure was tricky. As the last of the smoke cleared, they both shunpo-ed away. Hinamori took a deep breath and held up her hand, getting into her kidou stance.

" Sorry Renji, but I can't play with you any longer!" Naruto shunpo-ed away easily, aiming for the open door at the opposite end of the room. _' Shunpo is easy…just like the shushin. That's not a problem!'_ He thought. This was the first time he ever used it in a fight. Toushiro only had him practicing training his skills by himself; that boy never spared with him on hand-to-hand.

" Heh!" Renji landed, giving up on chasing Naruto. " We're gonna have an interesting fight later, Zabimaru. ...But I'll let him pass Hakuda for now."

* * *

Toushiro glanced at the closed set of doors uneasily. Loud booms could be heard from inside. Hinamori was probably at work. Toushiro sighed. He didn't have the heart to tell Naruto that this exam was much harder to pass than the basic one. Yamamoto had even put Renji and Hinamori, seated officers, to play.

_BOOM! _A loud explosion rang out through the halls, the smoke ruffling up his hair. Toushiro sighed again. It was just like Naruto to make Hinamori angry.

" Didn't I tell him not to upset them?" He muttered angrily under his breath.

* * *

" Yeoch!" Naruto yelped as he fell back down to earth after a well-placed Kidou spell by Hinamori singed his hair a bit. " Itai…" He groaned and sat up groggily. He patted his soot-black hair tips. " That's horrible…my hair is burnt…"

He glanced up to see Hinamori standing over him, her arms outstretched. " H-h-h-hey…I just fell down and my butt seriously hurts here, so gimme a break alright?" Honestly speaking, Naruto didn't even wanted to fight at all, since he knew that his body might get stun or lose control at any random moment. He had yet to regain full control yet, though he hated to admit that. So his target for now was not to bash his examinees senseless, but to just reach the door and touchdown. Then the end. He passed.

" Gomen, Naruto-kun." Hinamori took a deep breath and began chanting. But it seems that it was not going to be that simple...

" W-w-wait!" Naruto stuttered_. 'Dammit! I so do not want to fight!'_

" Hadou no yon-" She began, ignoring Naruto's horrified shrieks. "Byakurai!" A burst of lighting shot out of her finger crashing down on Naruto. The smoke parted to reveal nothing- Naruto had shunpo-ed away.

Hinamori whirled around, shooting another blast at a fleeing yellow just directly behind her. She screamed, caught off guard as a spring protruded out off the yellow _thing._ On closer inspection, it turned out to be a well-placed kawarimi doll. How Naruto managed to hide something like that was beyond her. Damn, ninjas are hard.

" Hahaha!" Naruto snickered behind her, shunpo-ing rapidly away, this time running along the wall with reiatsu on his feet to stick against the wall. " Can't catch me!" He snickered, even pausing to slap his butt. That did not bid well with Hinamori. One thing she hated the most was being teased.

Naruto knew he was in deep trouble when he felt a strong killing intent unleashed behind him. Before he knew it, he was running away hastily from Hinamori's continuous fireballs. Yet it seemed, the more he ran, the more intense the fireballs became.

Renji sighed in the distance as he watched Naruto running comically away. A pissed off Hinamori was firing more bullets at the escaping blond, getting more and more angrier by the minute the more her fireballs didn't connect. "That baka." Renji said in a bored tone and squatted down, watching the fuming Hinamori, who was getting more determined to land a hit on Naruto. Yamamoto had forbidden them to use any Kidou spells higher than forty, if not the boy would be fried to a crisp by now.

" That's it." Hinamori sucked in her breath and began chanting rapidly. Feeling the fireballs creasing, Naruto turned around to see what the sudden change of attitude was about. Seeing Hinamori aiming her hand at him, Naruto cursed and began running harder. The next attack was going to be big- and Naruto had no idea how to defend himself against kidou spells yet.

" Hadou no san-ju-ichi: shakkahō!" A red fireball shot out of her palm and blasted a huge crater at the spot where Naruto was a few moments ago. Hinamori gasped as the smoke cleared but no body was lying in the smoking crater.

'_Shimatta!_' She thought as she scanned her surroundings. She had underestimated the blond. Naruto had managed to escape her kidou spell with shunpo. ' He has very good reiatsu control to be able to use shunpo so fast.' She thought grimly. She didn't expected that coming from a rookie who had only studied for a year or so, and now had left herself wide open for an attack.

" Yo! Heads up guys! I'm here!" Came Naruto's childish voice from above. Hinamori cursed and blindly looked up at the ceiling. Still suspended in midair, Naruto readied his palm.

" Bakudo no ku: _geki_!" A red beam shot out of his hand and paralyzed her. Hinamori fell heavily to the ground and snarled, still struggling to break the kidou. '_That boy…I totally underestimated him! No beginner has ever been this good before…no wonder the General Captain told us to look out for him!'_

Naruto jumped over her. " Ta-ta, suckers! I've been through the chuunin exams and out already…this lame exam won't stop me!" He chuckled and sprinted for the door. Why was it still so far away? Was the room really this big before? A segmented blade with a pick-like protrusion on each segment suddenly flew in front of the entrance, blocking it. Naruto back flipped just in time.

" Somebody's forgetting me…" Renji smirked and stepped through all the cloud of dust his sword whipped up.

Naruto glanced at his left cheek. Renji's sword had made a long horizontal gash across. Blood was slowly oozing out of it. " Tch." Naruto wiped the blood off with his sleeve. Already, he could feel his reiatsu healing his newly acquired wound. " Using your shikai is cheating."

Renji shrugged. " Nobody said I couldn't use it. Pity that you can't. Seeing how you manage to stun Hinamori, I'd better raise the stakes a bit higher too. Don't want to handicap myself too much you know."

Naruto growled and started to unsheathe his own sword. Renji smirked and flash-stepped over to where Naruto is, his blade flashing madly. Zabimaru clashed heavily on Naruto's hilt, his own sword not fully drawn out in time. Naruto had to stumble backwards several steps due to the force off the blade and the incomplete block.

" That's why I said I hate long swords." He muttered darkly, now properly drawing out his sword fully. Renji jumped backwards to give himself a little space to launch his next attack.

" What's the matter? Can't control your sword right?" Renji mocked and waved his sword around. Zabimaru extended and Naruto had to dodge as one of it's segment crashed down on him. " Don't worry, I'm not supposed to use any attacks, just my sword only."

Naruto charged forwards, blocking the long chain of segments with his own sword as he ran. The metal grinded as the blades met. Naruto knocked away the long whip-like sword and charged forward with a battle cry, holding his own sword at the ready.

Renji hurriedly retracted his sword to block Naruto's attack. To his surprise, Naruto did not attack him but jumped on him. Using Zabimaru as a foothold, Naruto launched himself into the air and landed behind Renji.

" You-" Renji swirled around angrily at the blond, who was already sprinting away for door. Apparently, Naruto wanted to end this fast, aiming for the door rather than defeating Reinji. " Come back!" Renji shrieked.

" Kiss my ass!" Naruto shouted back and started to shunpo away. Renji snarled and chased after him.

" Teme! Come here and fight me like a true man! You coward! You twitchy, tricky little…" Renji cried out, brandishing his sword at Naruto, who only snorted.

" You didn't say that I have to fight you!" Naruto yelled, speeding up a little. _'If he could just reach to goal…'_ "And anyway, I like being tricky!"

Renji growled and immediately shunpo-ed over to Naruto, effectively blocking his path. Naruto swerved and changed directions but Renji was always blocking him, being the more experience and faster one. _'Come on Naruto…think of a plan…_'Naruto cracked his head for a solution. ' _Etto …plan …plan …plan…if I can't come up with any plans, then how 'bout a prank instead?_' Naruto growled out in frustration and bent his legs, getting into defensive stance.

" Okay, okay, I got it. I'll fight your bloody battle." He grumbled, but he plunged the sword into the ground instead, which confused Renji a little, but nevertheless, didn't dampen his spirit.

" That's the way!" Renji grinned and shunpo-ed directly over behind Naruto, raising his sword up in the air. He swung it down on Naruto's back, but to his surprise, Naruto shunpo-ed away at the last second, making Zabimaru crash into the floor and get stuck there, unmoving.

" Behold! The greatest attack that's been passed down from generations to generations in Konoha!" Naruto had appeared behind Renji and clasped his hands together. ' _Shit!_' Renji cursed and tried to yank his sword out. He could feel Naruto charging towards him.

" I learned this from Ero-senin, who taught it to the Yondaime, who taught it to Kaka-sensei!" Naruto screamed and brought his fist forward. Renji began yanking at his sword harder.

"The original and unbeatable taijutsu attack: SENNEN GOROSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Naruto yelled and stuffed his fingers, which were heavily loaded with reiatsu, into Renji's butt. Hinamori stopped struggling on the ground and froze at the comedic scene in front of her, trying not to laugh out at the expression of shock and horror on Renji's face.

Naruto released the reiatsu kept in his hands and sent Renji flying and crashing loudly into the ceiling. Then he dusted his hands and picked up his sword and walked out through the unguarded door. Morons, never underestimate Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

Toushiro ran up to where Naruto just came out of. "Oei. How did it go?"

" Piece of cake." Naruto grinned, giving Toushiro the 'nice guy' pose, sparkling teeth and all. " I own them all."

" You don't look like it." Toushiro glanced at Naruto; whose hair was smoking and clothes were tattered. He even spotted blood on one of Naruto's sleeve, yet no cut was visible. Was the exam too hard for the boy? " Looks like Hinamori did quite a number on you."

" Yeah, she did-wait." Naruto stopped and stared at Toushiro. " You know who my examinees are?!" He cried shaking Toushiro by his front collar. " You _knew!_ And you never told me!"

" Stop that!" Toushiro swatted Naruto's hand off not too gently. " Of course I knew! This is my division and I'm a third seater here!"

" 'And I'm a third seater here!'" Naruto imitated Toushiro, but exaggerated a little too much, making Toushiro look half sissy. " You don't have to keep reminding me about your status! Stupid Shinigami braggarts!"

"Well, I didn't work hard and still got this status, so of course I'm bragging. Who wouldn't?" Toushiro smirked.

" That's called abusing your status! Using it on me!" Naruto cried. " All you seated officers are the same. Corrupted and brandishing your powers like that! That idiotic Renji is the same! _'This is the order of a third seat, so kiss my foot, you lowlife unranks!'_" He did a mock imitation of Renji, worser then what he did to Toushiro's, making Renji resembling a sick, worried fan girl. Then he pouted.

" Speaking of Renji, what did you do to him?" Toushiro pocked his head through the door. " I heard him shrieking girlishly inside. He's supposed to be out by now."

"Oh, you wouldn't want to know." Naruto smiled, and then started snickering at the memory. Yup, Uzumaki Naruto still had it in him. " That great big baboon brute… Hinamori-san made a better opponent then him. She's much more challenging anyway."

" And that _'great big baboon brute'_ can hear you. You lunatic moron." Came Renji's voice from behind. The two of them turned around to see Hinamori, who finally broke out of the Bakudo spell, supporting a hobbling Renji and trying to stifle her laughter at Renji's condition. Renji growled at her and she pointedly turned away, her shoulders still shaking with mirth.

" What the hell happened to you, Abarai?!" Toushiro gasped. On closer inspection, Renji, face had several large bruises and his clothes were just as tattered as Naruto's. He had finally managed to yank Zabimaru out and the sword was dangling loosely on his obi, finally sheathed.

" The teme over there… used an unorthodox method on me!" Renji snarled at Naruto, face red and steaming from anger and embarrassment. " Just what have you been teaching your students, Hitsugaya?!" He screeched.

" What unorthodox method?" Toushiro looked confused. " It can't be that bad…"

" It is! It's just plain horrible and disgusting!" Renji spat. Naruto and Hinamori caught each other's eye and burst out laughing on the floor. Renji lost his balance without Hinamori's support and fell too, heavily on his butt. He jumped up again immediately, yowling out loud and rubbing his sore butt. Naruto just howled louder on the floor as a response.

* * *

" So, he passed eh?" Mayuri peered at one of his screens. " Interesting. He didn't even go all out yet."

" Neither did Abarai or Momo." Jyuushiro pointed out, still protesting silently at the harsh treatment that Soul Society was giving the boy. " Can you guys give that poor boy a break? He didn't even undergo the proper training and yet we're already advancing him to Shinigami."

Mayuri waved an unconcerned and impatient hand. " _Whatever._ The point is that that boy must be strong to escape Momo's Kidou spells and Abarai's Zanpakuto. But those two had limits placed on them too, so that they may not accidentally fatally injure the boy."

" Hmmm…but like you said, he was skilled at doing this kind of stuff when he was alive. His mind should remember how to react during battles." Kyoraku slouched in front of the screen, observing the recorded exam.

Mayuri replayed the fight scene. " Just watch how he dodges Momo's fireballs! Absolutely marvelous!" He exclaimed. " That boy's going to be very useful to Soul Society! Very useful indeed!"

" I still don't like that idea." Jyuushiro crossed his arms and glared at the screen, as though it was displaying someone undergoing a ruthless form of torture. "He's just a kid."

" A kid that's been trained from young to kill." Zaraki looked at the blond that was dodging the flame bullets in slow motion. " I really wanna slice him up. Can I do it? Since he's officially a Shinigami now anyways…"

" Now, now Kenpatchi. I need him for my…ahem…_experiments._" Mayuri cleared his throat. " I can't have you slicing him up to bits, so don't be so selfish."

" Says who? I'll slice him up first; you can have him after I'm done with him." Zaraki snapped at the scientist for talking to him like a child.

" Kenpatchi! Use your brain! I need him all in one piece! Alive and well! What's the point of giving me a body with only one kidney?" Mayuri snapped back.

" Take your own Shinobi. This one's my prey." Zaraki glared at Mayuri. Who glared back with equal intensity.

" He's not yours! I saw him first!"

" I _claimed_ him first!"

" I will experiment on him first and that's final!" Mayuri screamed, hand twitching to the blade resting in the middle of his Shinigami's obi. Heavy silence followed after that. Finally, Zaraki thoughtfully spoke up.

" Kurotsuchi…what is your division number again? I seemed to have forgotten it somehow…" He lied, feigning a look of innocence. Which did not suit his face perfectly well.

" Twelve." Mayuri replied, narrowing his eyes and looking disdainfully at the other captain, knowing that he had something up his sleeve. Kenpatchi might be sadistic and blood loving, but he was not _stupid_. " Why?"

" Well, I'm eleven! And higher than you! So I'll give the orders here!" Zaraki declared smugly. " And that will be final Mayuri. At least I'm kind enough to give you the boy's remains _after_ I'm done with him."

" It doesn't work that way!" Mayuri screamed, frustrated at this brainless dimwit standing before a genius like him.

" Does too!"

" Does not!"

" Does too!"

" Does not!"…

Jyuushiro sighed. " Captains fighting over a eighteen year old kid. Imagine that. How absolutely mature."

" Don't let that Uzumaki hear you, Jyuushiro. Something tells me he might get cocky." Kyoraku grinned at his exasperated friend.

" Ooh, look at that!" Isshin rushed over to the screen and pressed Mayuri's body down so that he could get a better view. " That Uzumaki sure knows how to shunpo!" He whistled appreciatively. " That's one…two…three…four…fifteen! Fifteen consecutive shunpos! Brilliant!"

All the other captains rushed over to fawn over the boy, squashing Mayuri in the process. Appreciative mummers could be heard as they scrutinized the blond carefully, giving remarks on the way.

The door clicked open to reveal Gin. " What 'cha all doin'?" He looked at the pile of five captains, all pushing and pulling each other so that they can get a closer look at the boy.

" Nothing. Go away, Ichimaru." Zaraki snapped at the 'most-snoopy-and-irritating-captain-ever-alive'.

" Ouch! Isshin, your sword is poking into me!" Kyoraku suddenly whined, rubbing his hip. " Sheesh, swaggering around like that…"

" Oops! My bad, my bad." Isshin good naturally shifted his long Zanpakuto. All the captains deliberately ignored Gin and shifted their attention back to the screen, 'ooh'ing and 'aah'ing at the maneuvers Naruto was doing. Which still needed a lot of improvement on.

" Oh? Spying on that boy now, aren't 'cha?" Gin walked forwards and glanced at Naruto who was advancing on Renji now. " He doesn't seem that special to me. And his moves aren't really anything new…"

" _Shhhhh!" _All the other captains simultaneously hissed. " This is the good part!"

Gin stared as Naruto did the legendary _'Sennen Goroshi' _on a screeching Renji. Then the screen blacked out. " What's so amazing 'bout that?" He asked, confused. " It was just a butt poke."

" It was brilliant! A stroke of genius! Absolutely creative!" Zaraki exclaimed, ignoring Gin as usual. " Well, there wasn't any blood, but still…"

" Putting a lot of reiatsu in one point and releasing them all in one go…so simple yet brilliant! Why didn't we think about this before?!" Isshin gasped in awe. The others nodded their agreements.

" Okay, okay I got the point." Gin sighed. " You guys…the General captain want ya all in the meeting room right now. He says he got an important announcement for ya all."

" What does that troublesome Yama-jiji want now? Don't tell me he's introducing us to _another_ Shinobi?" Kyoraku sighed. " Oh no…"

" I sure hope not." Jyuushiro groaned. " We already don't know how this one's turning out. Introducing yet another one…"

" Well, we better go to the meeting then." Isshin stretched lazily. Mayuri's muffled voice came from underneath him. " Oops, did you say something Mayuri-chan?" Isshin shifted himself so that they can hear what the scientist was going to say.

" I said, you dumbbells, GET OFF ME!" Mayuri roared, not happy about being buried under by the four captains' butts. The five captains hastily scooted out of the door and to the first division, not wanting to face Mayuri's wrath.

* * *

" Why are we here again?" Isshin whined. He looked around to see whether anyone was not present. Yet another meeting so soon? This was getting exhausting. " Hey! Retsu taichou, Kaname taichou, and Kouji taichou isn't her! Fancy that! And they're usually the most punctual out of all of us!"

" They are not needed here." Yamamoto said blandly, signaling the start of this meeting. " Today, I have called you here to discuss about Uzumaki Naruto."

" Aren't we always…" Kyoraku sighed. " We've been discussing him for the past few months repeatedly already. Sheesh. This topic is getting boring."

" And why isn't the three captains needed?" Byakuya asked. " You said the boy was moved up to Seireitei's most important case. Yet three captains need not attend this?"

" Because, as you know, Uzumaki has passed the Shinigami entrance exam which we had personally created, so we are here to discuss which squad we shall put Uzumaki in." Yamamoto said. " The captains mentioned above do not have spaces in their squads. Plus, I find that Naruto is unsuited to go into the fourth division."

Yamamoto cleared his throat. "So we shall begin. From his status report that Kurotsuchi gave me, that boy is quite good at controlling his reiatsu. Thus, he can grasp shunpo and kidou quite easily. And as you can see, his prankster attitude makes him creative and inventive. His status when he was alive naturally makes him high in Hakuda and Zanjutsu."

Yamamoto finished his general report and looked at Soi Fon. " Starting with the captain of the second division. Soi Fon, do you want him?"

Soi Fon looked at the status report passed down to her by the General himself. " It seems that he is quite good at stealth and missions and all that since he these were originally the job of Shinobi anyway, but it's his attitude that worries me…those missions assigned to those without shikai is too easy. He might get bored and act out of plans, blotching up the mission." Soi Fon mentally winced as she handed the clipboard down to the next person. _Sorry, but I hate brash people like him._

" Don't look at me that way. Of 'course my division is free (it's always free), but I'd rather not have that brat. Don't see anything special in the boy whatsoever. In fact, I'd rather wash my hands off this entire project." Gin smiled, wearing his usual negligent expression.

" Oh, and then why were you watching the screens happily with us a few moments ago?" Zaraki sarcastically asked. " Not interested eh?"

" I did say that he looked stupid, poking people in the butts like that." Gin unperturbedly replied. " Creative yes, but insulting, loud and unhygienic. Yucky. So…how 'bout you, Aizen?"

" He should not be a problem. But however, I'm afraid we might not be able to train him as efficiently as the others. We are more concentrated on our defense. To me, he seems more suited for the offensive. But don't get me wrong. My division is open to the boy, I see not problem with him." Aizen closed his eyes and passed the report down to Byakuya. _' What a shame…'_ He would love to have a shinobi in his division. No, he wouldn't have minded one bit.

Byakuya immediately passed the report down to Kyoraku without even glancing down at it. " If he's a hotheaded moron, then the sixth division won't be accepting him. My lieutenant is a handful already. Thank you."

" Oh, I would absolutely love to have him! He's a darling boy! " Kyoraku gushed and took out a brush to sign his name on it, but the clipboard was swiftly snatched away by Isshin before Kyoraku could even lay a single stroke on the paper.

" Letting Kyoraku have him would be a grave mistake. Imagine how our weapon would turn out to be! All sake corrupted and sloppy. Tch." Isshin snorted and puffed out his chest proudly. " I'll discipline him better- HEY! THAT'S MINE!" He ended in an ear-splitting shriek as Zaraki yanked the clipboard out of his hands.

The eleventh squad captain grinned manically as he lifted the clipboard above his head, well out of reach for both Kyoraku and Isshin, being the taller one after all. As Isshin protested, Zaraki explained to the general. " Personally, I think the eleventh division should have him. We are the ones well trained in combat. If you want him to be a weapon, the eleventh division is the best choice." Zaraki grinned and leered at Mayuri and Jyuushiro. " Any objections?"

Mayuri shrugged. " Do what you want with him. I'd love to experiment on him, yes. But not _him_ experimenting on my other test subjects. I'll say he got the creativity, but his has got no brains at all to even understand how to properly maneuver a drill, and his inventions are probably bound to be absolute rubbish."

" I'm afraid I can't keep him…" Jyuushiro said, smiling sadly. " I would love to have him too, but my illness just won't allow me to look after someone that hyper. And sadly so, I don't think he'll be able to be that successful in my division."

" That settles it then." Zaraki smugly said, smile broadening further. "I'll keep him."

" I protest! Zaraki will cut him up as soon as he sets foot in the eleventh division! Even if he does survive, he'll turn up all wicked, mad and bloodthirsty like Zaraki! It'll be a catastrophe!" Isshin protested, raising his hand up, resembling a little kid in junior school.

" Ah, but _you_ can't have him, Kurosaki." Zaraki smirked.

" And why can't I?" Isshin challenged. " I am perfectly capable of taking care of him, thank you very much."

" 'Cause Hitsugaya is in your squad. He'll be mothering and protecting that boy. We can't have that, can we? Than boy needs to grow up by himself." Zaraki grinned. " That's why I will-"

" That's enough." Yamamoto interrupted the captain's squabble, head throbbing slightly from all the noise the captains were making. " I have decided. Uzumaki Naruto shall go… to the **second division**."

A long pause. Then, _**" NANIIII?"**_ Came Isshin, Zaraki, Kyoraku, Mayuri, Jyuushiro and Soi Fon's screeches.

--TOC--

* * *

Tada! Chapter done! I did try to make it extra long:)

Hope you guys are happy on where I put him, but don't cha worry, the division that he goes to doesn't matter. You know why…? (I won't tell you.)

**Vocabulary:**

Nawanuke no justu: Technique used by Sasuke, meaning something like ropes unbinding or something like that.

Urusai: Shut up

Hai: Yes

Zanjutsu: Sword techique

Bakudo no ichi:sai : Binding spell one: restrain

Hadou no yon: Byakurai : Destructive spell four: White Lightning

Hadou no san-ju-san: Shakkahou : Destructive spell thirty three: Blue fire, Crash down

Bakudo no ku: Geki : Binding spell nine: strike

Shimatta: Shoot! or Crap! or something like that...

Etto: Err...

Sennen Goroshi: Thousand years of pain (Honestly, if you don't know this one, you don't deserve to call yourself a Naruto fan.)

Nani: What

_Greivergf: are you going to have the kyuubi return or are some of the shinobi going to become hollow/arrancar for the HM arc? is Naruto going to become a vizard?_

_Yuzuki-sama: This is a real big spoiler question! Err…I don't really fancy vizards, and I don't know __how__ Naruto is gonna learn to be one, so no. He isn't. But I really can't answer your first question! But yeah. A real big baddie shinobi is gonna turn into a hollow/arrancar. I won't tell you who, so please don't guess._

_Blood Zephyr: Hm. I'm having a difficult time picturing Naruto's sword. That's kinda strange for me ;p Any chance that you could draw a picture of it?_

_Yuzuki-sama: Ha! Finally noticed my great drawing skills, have ya? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but my tablet is on the fritz right now and my dad refuses to fix it...It's so sad:(_

So…please wait patiently for the next chapter! Hai! Arigato gozaimashita!


	8. Seireitei’s Welcome

Okay…you don't hafta nag, I know I'm late. My demonic teachers have been piling up homework after homework on me. It's frustrating, I know. I had to submit 3 projects today! THREE!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach

Saa, enjoy:

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The Path after Death.

**Chapter Eight-****瀞霊廷**,**の歓迎（****seireitei no kangei) Seireitei's Welcome**

"Shigekuni-taichou, I'm afraid I must protest!" Soi Fon immediately spoke up sternly but was wailing deep inside her heart. " Why should I get stuck with him when the others are much more than happy to receive him?" Soi Fon was extremely upset, and that was saying something since she never even showed emotions at all. _That brat will blotch up every mission he is assigned to! The second division will lose its entire reputation!_ She thought darkly.

" Like Isshin said, Uzumaki is our weapon. He must be taught, supervised and trained strictly and properly. Placing him with a lax captain will allow him to be more uncaring and relax in Soul Society. We do not want him to think that we Shinigami are such carefree people." Yamato explained. Soi Fon closed her eyes and sighed, knowing where this conversation was leading.

" So I believe that the second division is most suitable for him. They are the ones with highest law and order around and since their missions somewhat resembled a shinobis', he'll have less problems with completing them than he will with others."

Soi Fon now truly regretted keeping her division so strict and loyal. Never had she thought that this would backfire on her. " If you're planning to send him to my squad in the first place, than why bother asking everyone to come here too?" She muttered under her breath. It did not go unnoticed.

" Soi Fon taichou, are you questioning my orders?" Yamato asked, his tone containing no malice but his eyes had flashed with anger just for a split second. It was only for a short while, but Soi Fon caught sight of it. And from the looks of it, Byakuya too, who remained silent. No one dared to speak up for a moment.

" No sir." She replied hurriedly, bowing slightly, knowing that the General had already made up his mind. She was going to be the unlucky one pampering the kid. " Uzumaki will be accepted into the Second Division. It is a great privilege to have us train soul society's weapon." _That is, if I don't strangle him to death first, of course…_

Yamato nodded. " Then this case is closed. You are all dismissed. Soi Fon, stay back for a moment. I would like to discuss with you about Uzumaki's training schedule." Surprised, Soi Fon dipped her head in assent.

" Understood."

Captains like Jyuushiro and Byakuya brushed pass and headed straight to the door without further ado, but other captains like Kyoraku, Isshin and Mayuri shuffled their feet and tried to make their way out as slowly as possible, wanting to eardrop on the conversation which was about to take place. A spike of spiritual pressure and a glare from Yamamoto immediately sent them scurrying away.

When the presence of other captains are gone, Yamato directed his gaze back to Soi Fon, who was standing in the same position obediently, waiting orders. She was still feeling a bit cranky about having Naruto in her devoted division, but cooled down since.

" You still have objections about having Uzumaki on your team, yes?" Yamamoto asked.

" No sir." Came Soi Fon's automatic reply. " I believe in your decision and your reasons are valid."

Yamamoto sighed heavily. " You say that now, but you are still reluctant to accept him. Why is that so?" He did not receive an immediate respond this time. Soi Fon bit her lips, obviously thinking carefully of what she was going to say. Yamamoto waited for her reply patiently.

" It's just that he…" Soi Fon began but stopped and bit her bottom lip again, threading carefully on what she was going to say. Then she blurted out. " He is the kind who stubbornly refuses to back down. I have no qualms about his skill, but he must learn how to retreat. That is a life and death decision and for the sake of the mission; even if he _is _willing to throw his own life away. The Second Division prides itself on being the best when it comes to complying with the rules, but with him there-" She was cut short off her rant when Yamamoto held his hand up, silently telling her the keep quiet for the moment. She did and hung her head, thinking that maybe she shouldn't have said too much.

" Exactly." Yamamoto agreed. Soi Fon's head snapped up at that word. " It's true that his weaknesses are his impatience and stubbornness, but that is exactly why I put him in your division. Like you mentioned earlier, the Second Division prides itself on being the best when it comes to complying with the rules right?"

Soi Fon did not reply. Yamamoto carried on when he heard no protests coming. " That is why we are counting on you and your squad on toning him down. Rid him of his defaults and make him a tool that Soul Society can access easily to, at any time or place without any hesitation."

Soi Fon bowed down, not utterly convinced, but knowing that she was dismissed. " I am truly honored you placed him under my care." She straightened up and backed away. " Then, if you require no more assistance of me, I shall take my leave now."

Yamamoto watched, unblinking, as Soi Fon marched out of the room before flickering out of sight with shunpo. He sighed wearily again. " I'm sorry, Soi Fon. But we need to find a way to improve on our defense, and this is the only way I can think off. I'll be counting on you then."

* * *

Naruto looked at himself in the mirror in one of the many guest rooms the academy had. He was staying there for the time being as he waited to get sorted into a division. He grinned at his face that was grinning back at him as he admired his new set of clothes. Yes, now he had on the traditional Shinigami robes, his tachi slotted neatly into the obi.

His sunshine yellow hair stood out as a staking contrast against his black robes. He frowned as he tugged at his locks. "Aaa, that's not good, I won't be able to sneak around like this…" He muttered.

But what was most unusual about him wasn't his hair; it was a slab of metal attached to a piece of black cloth, which was tied around his neck. However, it was only and empty slab; the Konoha symbol was not visible. Naruto inspected that too, frowning again as he stared down at the empty slab.

He was snapped out of his musings by the loud banging of the door. " Oei, open up you moron! OEI!" Muttering to himself about impolite, impatient and temperamental little bastards, Naruto trudged to the door and opened it, only to get his face bashed in a few millimeters by a fist.

Toushiro stopped his loud knocking midway as he felt his hand hit something soft and glanced down to find Naruto, who was angrily rubbing his bruised nose and glowering darkly at him. " Oops." He said, not at all sounding like he meant it. " Sorry."

In a flash, Naruto had jumped back up and punched him back. Toushiro yelped in surprise about being punched on. " That's for punching me!" Naruto explained satisfactorily to the fuming boy in front of him. But nevertheless, he stepped back to let Toushiro enter.

" Soooo…what 'cha here for, Shiro-_chaaan_?" Naruto sat down on the bed crossed-legged, his elbows leaning on his legs, propping his chin up. Toushiro, who had already helped himself, sat on a chair and was nursing his own bruised nose tenderly, turned to glare at the newfound nickname he was given.

" Don't. Call. Me. Shiro. Chan." In his opinion, ' Shiro-chan' was the worst nickname he was ever given in his entire life. Hell, even his original name, Shorty, was much more better sounding than this one.

" Oh, I dunno…. I kinda like the name Shiro-chan though." Naruto said vaguely and pretended to ponder on it. Toushiro groaned. When Naruto gets into one of these moods…let's just say the outcome was never ever pleasant. Naruto opened his eyes and pointed dramatically at Toushiro. " YOSH! From now on, your new name will be SHIRO-CHAN!"

Before things could get any worse for Toushiro, a voice behind him suddenly boomed out, scaring the living daylights out of the poor boy. " Shiro-chan?" Recognizing the voice, Toushiro turned around only come face to face with his Captain. Oh, the horror; he had brought some company.

" Eh? And who are you?" Naruto scrutinized the three people in front of him. All three Shinigamis, but two had a white cloak over the basic uniform. Captains, eh? Beside him, Toushiro hurriedly stood up. " Taichou! What are you doing here? I thought you told me to deliver this message-" Huh, Toushiro's captain too!

" SHIRO-Chan?" Isshin wasn't even paying attention to Toushiro's drabble, more interested in the newly found nickname. Toushiro huffed and crossed his arms across his chest. " Fine, don't pay attention to me then." He growled so softly, only Naruto heard it.

" Hitsugaya-san, pay some respect!" The black haired girl beside Isshin hissed. Looks like not only Naruto heard Toushiro's mutter. Toushiro gave a death glare at the girl, apparently still in his own little emo corner. Being punched and now being humiliated by his captain…

" You heard that Jyuushiro? Uzumaki is so creative to come up with a name like that! Too creative for words! ' Shiro-chan' huh? I think it fits you too, though." Isshin exclaimed, looking at his companion standing beside him, Jyuushiro. Jyuushiro sighed.

" Kurosaki-taichou, please don't add the '-chan' at the back. You make me sound like a twelve year old. I think it fits Hitsugaya, not me." That sentence immediately earned him another glare from the sour Toushiro.

" Are you comparing me to twelve year old?" He asked dangerously, his green eyes glinting. " Am I that _minute_ to be compared as a twelve year old?"

" And what's wrong with that? You do _look_ like a twelve year old see?" Isshin curiously enquired. " _Shiiiro-chan_." Naruto nervously edged away from a beet-red Toushiro who looked close to exploding. That captain sure has got guts. Even he knows that now was not the time to piss Toushiro off. When Toushiro was close to blowing any time soon.

" Anyways, who are you and what are you doing in my room? You didn't even knock." Naruto quickly changed the subject so that Toushiro didn't explode and start murdering everyone within a fifty feet radius around him. He glared at the three intruders. They don't really look like enemies because Toushiro didn't talk to them brashly or formally. But still, just to test, his left hand slowly shifted to his Tachi resting on this left waist.

Looks like everyone had noticed his movements too. Sharp. The girl also had a palm resting on her own Zanpakuto's hilt already. 'So, that's how a Shinobi is, eh? Sharp, smart and untrusting, given his personality. Usually, others his age wouldn't even think that far already.' Isshin analyzed the boy in front of him casually. Not even looking as though he care whether he was under attack or not. Beside him, he could tell that Jyuushiro was doing the same. He held his hand up. The girl let go of her Zanpakuto's hilt immediately and relaxed her stance, obeying her captain.

At those movements, Naruto's expression and body softened somewhat, but Isshin noticed that his hands were casually slung over his sword, making it easy to pull it out anytime. His grin broadened. Good senses, that boy.

" That's enough, Naruto." Toushiro said, rolling his eyes, knowing fully well that Naruto was testing, or rather, playing with them. That moron." This is my Captain, Kurosaki Isshin. Not your enemy. You don't have to be too uptight about it, sheesh." After hearing that, Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and grinned.

" Ahh, sorry about my disrespect to you just now." Naruto stood up too and gave a short bow. " I get loads of surprise attacks on me err…last time, so I kinda get uptight about meetings with strangers."

He gave a shamefaced grin to everyone around the room. He thought he saw something flashed in Toushiro's eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but Toushiro beat him to it. " What the hell are you doing? You never bow to me before but you're bowing to…to…to someone like _him_?" He asked in disbelief. " You must be kidding me!"

" I'm…not supposed to do that?" Naruto blinked, playing along, knowing that Toushiro was trying to lighten the atmosphere. He was taught by the Sandaime to bow always to your employers or to someone of higher status than him, especially if they were rich…or extra pretty. That old pervert.

" He's not that a great person until you must bow to him." Came Toushiro's flat reply. That sentence did the job. Jyuushiro snickered while Isshin just stood there looking horrified. " S-s-shiro-chan…! How could you even say that? I'm your _Captain_!" He gasped out. Then started bawling out stuff that made no sense to any of them whatsoever.

" Okay…" Naruto arched an eyebrow. That man faintly made him think of a certain green spandex wearing jonin back home. " And who are the other two standing beside him?"

" Well, the white haired man is Kurosaki-taichou's lackey, Ukitake-taichou. And his lackey, the girl on his left, is Kuchiki Rukia." Isshin gave a shriek of satisfaction after hearing those words. Jyuushiro's smile had been wiped off his face in an instant and he was frowning at Isshin. Rukia towered menacingly over Toushiro.

" Don't speak about Ukitake-taichou like that! _Lackey?_ That was a very low blow!" She barked at him.

" Hey, hey. Cool down Kuchiki. It's just a joke. I'm fine with it, really." Jyuushiro smiled at his vexed up subordinate. He hadn't meant for her to start up a squabble, the frown was supposed to be playful.

" Oh my fellow shorty classmate, did that sentence bother you?" Toushiro drawled, his arms still crossed over his chest. Rukia took a step forward. Naruto looked from one participant to another, perplexed.

" Fellow shorty classmate…?" He looked confused. " What in the world…"

" They were one of the few who was ranked in Soul Society's ' Shortest Shinigami' poll. Done my the tenth division." Isshin supplied helpfully, leaning closer to Naruto so that he could explain it in softer tones.

" Oh." Naruto could only say. Rukia was short, but Toushiro was much shorter. Naruto sighed. Toushiro was just being too mean sometimes, just like that Sasuke. Thinking of Sasuke however only made him frown. He and Isshin lapsed into awkward silence for a moment before Naruto remembered something. " But aren't you from the tenth division?"

Isshin sighed, knowing full well that he could not deny it, with the huge character '_ju_' being plastered on his back. " Oh, all right. I admit, I was the one who came up with the idea and forced the old man to approve it." Naruto stared in disbelief at the man standing before him. Isshin glared back with a slight frown. " Don't stare at me like that- Toushiro managed to gain some distinguish-ment and hey, it was fun, so who's complaining?"

Behind him, Jyuushiro gave a little cough. Isshin ignored him.

Rukia's cheeks flushed a little and she cleared her throat, trying to hide her embarrassment. " But still, I wonder how you even managed to become a third seater, with that sword of yours. It's attack power…defenses…forms…tch. So unoriginal."

" And yours is supposed to be good? Your ice breaks easily with only a half hearted attempt at a kick." Toushiro snapped without missing a beat. Naruto could have sworn the temperature of the room had dropped down by a few degrees as the two of them glared at each other. To his left, Jyuushiro was sweat dropping nervously.

" Err, what are they arguing about now?" Naruto asked again, frustrated at not being able to keep up with the conversation.

" Well, both their Zanpakutos are of ice element." Isshin replied lightly. He looked at his friend beside him. " Ukitake–taichou, this is gonna take a while, so why don't you go back to your division and rest for awhile first? I can take care of the things here, so don't worry. My subordinates in there too, I can't let him get killed, can I?"

Jyuushiro coughed and smiled gratefully. " Yeah, I think I'd better go back first before I catch a cold or something…Ice users just give me the chills whenever they're angry." He shuddered slightly at the thought and offered a hand to Naruto. " Well, I'm glad I finally got a chance to meet you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked at the offered hand for a moment in confusion and shock before breaking into a grin and shook it warmly. " Yeah, well, I'm glad to meet you too!"

" Hey, he's not that bad a guy." Naruto grinned and rested both hands behind his head as he watched Jyuushiro's retreating figure. _Never did anyone wanted to shake my hand as a 'hello' before…_

Isshin smiled." Yeah. He's a great guy once you get to know him better."

* * *

Jyuushiro strode up the thirteenth division's hallways, a deep frown etched onto his face. Others who don't know him would say that he was lost in his thoughts, but those closest to him knew better. Ukitake Jyuushiro was _not_ happy, but not really angry too. Just pondering.

Upon entering his office, he collapsed heavily onto his hardback chair and took a slip of green tea to cool himself down. It would not do to get all angry or vexed up; it'll only worsen his condition and he did not wish to see Retsu-taichou unless necessary.

Putting down his cup of tea, he could see clearly a face staring back at him. A face of a yellow haired blue eyed boy grinning happily back at him. _'Yeah, well, I'm glad to meet you too!'_ Uzumaki Naruto…

Jyuushiro closed his eyes and sighed, clutching his tea tightly. "A young boy such as that…don't deserve to be treated in that manner, a _tool_…" He said crossly. " People aren't meant to be tools. It's just absurd. Right," Jyuushiro cracked open one eye to look at the newcomer sitting comfortably on the guest chair, " Kyoraku?"

" But my dear, he was treated and trained to be one since young." Kyoraku smoothy reasoned with his friend, not bothering explaining his sneaky entrance. Jyuushiro didn't mind- he was doing that to the white-haired man ever since…ever since they became friends. Oh why does he have to walk around with that sense of justice? "Just relax and enjoy life already, don't fret yourself over other people's businesses." Kyoraku sighed.

Jyuushiro remembered how Naruto had reached for his sword. The way discreetly reached for it was, to say, professional. Rukia didn't even notice his movement until his hand had grasped the hilt and produced a slight clicking sound. And all that was just a test for them huh? Rukia sure did fell for it easily. _' So what we are doing to him now isn't and different from what he was doing before..._'

With a sickening feeling in his stomach, Jyuushiro remembered the General Commander's- his Sensei's- own words._" If all goes according to plan, then Uzumaki Naruto… he will be our greatest trump card."_ His own _Sensei_, damnit!

" No." Jyuushiro tried to clear his mind of these thoughts. " He's still a human being with emotions, not a mindless killing machine." He said firmly, to a worried Kyoraku. " What right do we have to use him like that?"

" We don't." Kyoraku replied simply. " Perhaps it may just be his fate. So…what are you planning to do?" He asked, turning to face Jyuushiro, who just gave a faint smile in reply.

* * *

" Ehh? They're still going on and on about it huh? About who's the shorter one." Naruto leaned back against the bed frame. The heated argument between the two ice users were still going and Rukia didn't even seem to notice that her captain had left twenty minutes ago. Both Isshin and Naruto gave simultaneous yawns of boredom. Even though it was selfish of him, Naruto wished that Toushiro could just punch Rukia unconscious and be done with that. Or vice versa.

" How dare you…How DARE you insult my Captain! What did he ever do to you?" Rukia snarled, furious. Apparently they had gone back into the original topic on 'why Jyuushiro was Isshin's lackey'.

" I'll let you insult mine then. As far as I could remember, he didn't do anything to you either. Insult him and we'll call it quits." Toushiro drawled, bored. " Hurry up and insult him, then we can leave. Being a third seater, I have something to do, unlike you unranked shinigamis."

" That's not the point! Ukitake-taichou is much more kind-hearted then that _wimp_, Kurosaki (no offence)!" Rukia retorted. Isshin was looking as though he had his heat pierced by and arrow. A rain cloud and drifted over to pour over the depressed captain. Naruto had to edge away from the Captain so as not to get his new uniform soaked wet.

" Your _beloved_ taichou already said it was alright, why are you still pursuing this matter? Did come here just to piss me off or something, you no-seat!" Toushiro snapped at her, his patience stretching itself to its limits already.

" Ukitake-taichou is one of Soul Society's best captains (unlike Isshin, who is a ninny), and a role model to all Shinigamis alike! He is one of the people I respect the most, and that's saying a lot since I don't respect a lot of people (like you and your captain for starters), so I won't let you badmouth them however you please!" Rukia, it seemed, was reaching her limit too.

Naruto could understand her feelings a bit; he knew how it was like when Mizuki started saying things about Iruka-sensei. But still, what Toushiro said was for pure fun, not to be taken seriously. Even Jyuushiro had understood what Toushiro was trying to do. He opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Isshin, who silently shook his head in disapproval. Understanding Isshin's reasons, Naruto just leant back to observe the fight. If his hunch was correct, Toushiro should be saying something very dangerous right about…_now_…

" Oh? So you're an Ukitake fangirl now? What about your so called loyal and passionate devotion for your lovely _Kaien-dono_?" Toushiro retorted.

" You…don't you dare drag Kaien-dono into this…" Rukia's tone was icy now. " Don't you dare…"

Toushiro gave her an equally cold glare that said '_try me'_. " Your lovely good-for-nothing Kaien that got killed because he was bent on revenge. And Ukitake-taichou too, not stopping him…letting him fight even though his Zanpakuto broke…" Toushiro's voice also had a frosty edge to it now. Naruto was shivering already at the cold temperature the room morphed into.

_Crack._ The sound of breaking of bones rang through out the room. Rukia had slammed her Zanpakuto's hilt into Toushiro's ribcage. She stared down coldly at him. " You'd better be thankful that we're not allowed to unsheathe our Zanpakuto here; otherwise, you'll be thoroughly pierced by now." She glared down at him and brushed past, shunpo-ing to the thirteenth division headquarters.

Naruto glanced at her flickering back but turned his attention back to Toushiro, who was clutching his stomach and squatting on the floor. Unluckily, Toushiro was a _very_ fragile kid and could not recover as fast as Naruto could." Oei. Are you alright?" Naruto asked, kneeling down beside his friend. " I said _oei, are you alright_?" He shouted into Toushiro's ear.

Isshin took one look at Toushiro and snickered. Naruto was starting to panic now. " Gyaah! I knew it! All women are scary, knocking you out with only one hit! Captain! CAPTAIN! Quick! We must take him to the hospital immediately or else-" He stopped short as Toushiro mumbled something inaudible.

" What did you say? A-are you writing your will right now? Oh, okay, y-you want me to write it down for you?" Toushiro mumbled something that Naruto did not catch again. " Err…you need me to find you a good coffin? And shower your body with violets and daisies? AHHH don't leave me, _Shiiiiiiiiiro-Chaaaaaaaaan_!" Naruto started bawling his eyes out on Toushiro's body.

" Mffphgf…" Came a muffled noise from below Naruto. Naruto sat up and Toushiro groggily stood up and brushed himself down. " Shiro-chan! You're alive!" Naruto scrambled up and grabbed Toushiro into a death lock. " I thought I'd never see you again!" He said, snuggling Toushiro.

" I wish I can say the same thing to you." Toushiro muttered darkly under his breath, turning slightly purple from the lack of oxygen Naruto is giving him. Isshin grinned. " Aw, what is this? Group hug? How could you forget your own Taichou, Shiro-chan?" Isshin walked over to the two boys and started hugging and snuggling the two.

Naruto and Toushiro's yelps of dismay, horror and disgust rang through the air.

* * *

" Ahem." Isshin cleared his throat and began reading his grand announcement to Naruto. " I, Kurosaki Isshin, Captain of the tenth division, representing Soul Society, congratulates Uzumaki Naruto on being a Shinigami. I hope he will –what is that?" Isshin squinted at the scroll he was reading. Toushiro sighed in the background. " Ah, he will serve us faithfully and loyally. From this moment onwards, you are now a member of the Second Division, Captain Soi Fon. We welcome you to Seireitei." Isshin finished and cleared his throat.

" Wasn't that speech regal, awesome and solemn?" He said proudly, puffing out his chest. Toushiro snorted.

" None of the above. I think it's the exact opposite of all three." He drawled out monotonously, feeling really very touchy after is pointless squabble with the hotheaded Rukia.

"Yes, of course. After all, I wrote that myself- wait." Isshin had apparently misheard Toushiro's sentence. He rounded on Toushiro and hollered. " HEY! Kuchiki-san is right! Treat your captains with some respect!"

" Whatever." Toushiro rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall. " Well," he prompted at Naruto, who was still sitting looking clueless on the bed." What are you still doing here?"

" What?" Naruto asked dumbly, fingering his scar on his left hand. Isshin idly wondered how he got that.

" Aren't you going to attend your registration ceremony? Soi Fon taichou is very strict, you know." Toushiro informed him.

Naruto visibly paled. " What time does it start?"

Toushiro smirked. " Five in the afternoon sharp."

Naruto gulped nervously and turned paler, his skin now rivaling Sasuke'. " And what time is it now?" The squeaked, beads of cold sweat trickling down his face.

Toushiro's smirked was lifted higher. Naruto knew he wouldn't like the boy's answer already.

" It's 5:05 now. " He said, covering his ears as he did so. The glass panel on the windows was shattered by Naruto's piercing screeches.

" **I'm LATE! I'M LATE, LATE LATE, L.A.T.E!"**

**--toc--**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S notes:** Okay, it's waaay past my bedtime now…(ｚ＿ｚ) and there isn't going to be any cross pairings here. Forget cross-pairings, I can't even do canon pairings! I suck at writing romance…

And err…sorry to and fans of Rukia out there if I accidentally made her too OOC or bitchy…_Gomenasai._ Please don't post any bad critics on that, thanks. I have a very weak heart. Sadden me too much and I might just stop writing.

So I tried to add more vocab into this one and lengthen it, I hope my chapters are getting better:)

But thank you all anyway, for reading until this far.


	9. Spying and being Spied

Disclaimer: I do not own both Naruto and Bleach.

Enjoy.

**Chapter 9 : ****調査および調査される ****(chousa oyobi chousa reru) Spying and being Spied**

* * *

"You are…Uzumaki Naruto?"

Soifon scrutinized the boy in front of her carefully. No matter how she looked at him, there is only one word to describe him_: short_. And to think that she had expected some tall, slender man –which was what most shinobi looks like anyway. She put down her brush and neatly placed the stack of papers she had been working on a while ago away. " You're late."

Naruto shifted nervously in front of his captain. He decided to save his excuses for later. This captain doesn't look like one who could stand them anyway. Strangely enough, it reminded him of a certain Hyuuga Hiashi. Or was it Hizashi? Arrgh, whatever. They were twins anyway. Relaxing his slightly tense muscles, Naruto lowered his head slightly. "I'm sorry."

Soifon sighed and leant forward over her desk. " Never mind. But remember, punctuality is one of the rules of this division. I expect faster responses from you onwards. Do you understand me?"

" Hai." Naruto said quickly. '_This is one hell of a strict captain.' _He thought moodily. _' There goes my freedom of snooping around for the rest off…my entire stay here.'_

Hearing his assent, Soifon nodded and continued her introduction speech. "As you can tell, the second division is extremely strict. And as their captain, I will not tolerate any nonsense from you, or anyone else for the matter. Failure to obey the rules will lead to severe punishment immediately." Soifon paused and looked over to Naruto. "Any objections?"

Naruto hastily shook his head. '_Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into?_' He sulked.

" Good." Soifon picked up a sheet of paper from one of her great stacks and glanced through it, looking bored. " From your status data which I got from Nemu, it seems that you can fight fairly well with your Hakuda and Zanjutsu, and your shunpo…well, you'll improve on that by yourself. So in here, we'll start improving on your Kidou. Once you're at a satisfactory level, then we will start your shikai training."

Naruto ran through the list of his training programs in his head and nodded. '_And I thought that I could relax and live a happy life after dying! This is just too stressful…_' Seeing his nod, Soifon continued her 'introductory speech' in a dull monotonous tone, as though she had recited it a few thousand times and could remember it by heart already- which she probably had.

"There will be daily training every morning at seven. Afterwards, at ten, you'll receive your missions. Be it a solo mission or a group mission, you will leave the gate at exactly twelve in the afternoon sharp." Soifon said. " Then, on weekends or in the evenings when you're free, someone will come and instruct you on what to do for your personal training. Got everything taken down? Okay, so this concludes today's meeting. "

" So fast?" Naruto couldn't help himself and exclaimed loudly; he was half expecting her to give him a lecture about the do's and don'ts of this division. You know, 'no talking when the taichou is speaking' and 'remove your shoes when you enter the dojo'…or something like that. Soifon looked at him, one eyebrow raised quizzically.

" What more do you want? Aren't you supposed to be happy that you aren't going to be standing through a long and boring introductory speech?" She paused and checked the candle clock sitting on the right of her desk and sighed, frustrated. "Quickly go already, you're wasting my time." She snapped, her voice laced with annoyance.

" Hai." Naruto said hastily, covering his mouth for his little slip. ' _What a snappy and snobbish captain I got…this is a hellish division I am in… it must definitely be the work of Toushiro._' Something streaked past him and stopped directly in front of Soifon's desk- Naruto immediately realizing it was shunpo of course- revealing another Shinigami crouched down on one knee.

" Good. You're here." Soifon acknowledged. "Akira will guide you to your quarters and later show you around the division. If you need any help, you can go to him for directions." Soifon leant back, wordlessly telling them that they are dismissed. The man stood up and bowed, Naruto copying his movement. They left the room silently. Naruto quietly closed the door behind him and hastened to follow the other Shinigami.

* * *

'_This must definitely be a conspiracy by that Toushiro…_' He sulked again as he followed that guy- Akira was it? – through several winding corridors, most of them having a large set of double doors with plagues on them, reading things like 'equipment room' and 'library'. They have a library? Boooring.

" The cafeteria is on your left, just behind this wall here. It's open 24/7, so you can go there whenever you like." Akira spoke up suddenly. Naruto looked at him, surprised that that fellow wasn't mute. He nodded, noting down the location. He wasn't good at memorizing these kind of things, but still tried for the sake of memorizing it anyway.

Akira looked down at the shorter boy, a smile tugging on his lips. "Hey, no need to get all tensed up. Even though our taichou is like that, not everyone here is the no-nonsense kind. You should that a look at our vice-captain, he's a real big goofer. Just don't tell him I said that."

Naruto heaved a sigh of relief. " Thank goodness, 'cause I thought I'll be stuck with these kind of people for…the amount of time I'll be staying here anyway."

Akira laughed. It was surprising and rather welcoming, to know that this division is thankfully not filled with emos. " Yeah, we only act like that in our captain's presence…or in front of higher ups anyway." He stopped. " Okay, this room leads to the five different dojos we have, for both Hakuda and Zanjustsu. You can spar by yourself here, or find a partner to spar with. But just a friendly spar only- don't start a fight. Our captain doesn't like that."

" Okay." Naruto jotted the room down. He followed Akira down _more _corridors, watching as several Shinigami brushed past briskly, a few giving curt nods to Akira as they went. " Hey Akira…can I ask you something?" The taller one glanced down inquiringly at him, silently giving him the go-ahead. " Err…Why are they," Naruto jabbed his thumb at the group of Shinigami behind him that walked past a moment ago, "wearing these kind of weird uniforms? They're Shinigami too, right? They have Zanpakutos strapped on their waists."

Akira considered for a moment. "Well…you see, the Second Division is also Seireitei's Special Forces group, that does other things normal Shinigami don't. Of course, for people like you, you'll be doing a normal Shinigami's job- patrolling or if you're ranked higher, eliminating hollows in the real world. But those kind of infiltration or reconnaissance missions for seated officers require you to wear those uniforms."

Akira sketched the uniform out for Naruto to get a closer look. He circled the ends of the cloth. "See? There are tight bands over here to prevent the clothes from flapping too much and alerting the enemy. And it comes with a mask to hide your identity too. Cool huh?"

" You think it's cool, do you?" Naruto asked quietly, taking the notebook away and pretending to be absorbed in the style of the uniform but actually lost in his own thoughts. " I dunno, is going out there and risking your life just to steal back a single _artifact_ cool? Is it okay to be watching one of your teammates die just for the sake of this mission while you go back unharmed?"

Akira looked at Naruto strangely. " Hey. What's with you all of a sudden? You talk as if you know what it's like being out there, sheesh." Naruto blushed but still resolutely kept his gaze in front, muttering something like, 'Yeah, I _was_ an ANBU.' Akira smiled and started walking again. " I think I like doing those kind of things anyways. I became a Shinigami because I want to protect everyone. Just knowing that I stopped yet another hollow from eating innocent people up is just a big relief for me."

" Yeah…" Naruto absently agreed but not really getting the last few sentences, his right hand had automatically grasped his left forearm. He wondered why he even accepted this position anyway. It's not like he's committed to help these buffoons in the first place. Yes, he was a kind shinobi and all, but he's not that big hearted to fight for the 'sake of the world' or something. Just fighting for a village like Konoha is enough for him, thanks. Those memories were still kind of hazy in his mind.

Akira stopped and pointed to a narrow corridor. " See? That's where all the seated officer's room is. It's luxurious, I tell you. And this…is where all the un-ranked people like us stay. C'mon, I'll lead you to your room."

They fell silent for a while, walking down the endless hallways, Akira occasionally greeting a fellow teammate was they walk pass. Finally, Akira broke the silence. "So… this is your room over here, number 830. Mine's just one more corridor away, number 933. Feel free to call me whenever you're free, okay?"

Naruto nodded and took a pair of keys from Akira to open his door. As he made to close the door, Akira abrupt question froze him. " You…if you don't mind me asking, what's that you're wearing on your neck? It looks kind of plain, you going to add something to it?" Naruto's hand immediately flew over to his empty hitie-ate on his neck and stared at it blankly, almost forgetting that he had one dangling there.

Akira grinned at the blur boy and waved as he started to walk off. " Well, I shan't disturb you any further then. But since you're a newbie and all that, please make sure you know exactly why you'd even want to become a Shinigami in the first place… It could mean your life or death once you're out there in the battlefield, if you lost the will to fight."

Surprisingly, Naruto's face broked into a huge smile, the first one Akira had ever seen. " You stupid, Akira-san?" Naruto laughed. " I am the Great Uzumaki Naruto, and the soon-to-be General Captain of all you lowlife Shinigami! And, I just graduated, after all that hellish training, so what would I be doing if I just quit now?"

Akira smiled back in response as he turned around to head back to his room. " Yeah, so once you become a Taichou, make sure you get me out off this division and into yours, okay?"

" You can count on it!" Naruto replied firmly, still grinning. " You see if I don't become one."

Once Akira's footsteps can no longer be heard, Naruto silently closed and locked the door behind him, taking a few steps inside and inspecting his new 'room'. His room wasn't exactly spacious, but cleaner and of higher quality then his small apartment in Konoha when he was thirteen. He had shifted to a slightly larger one when he was seventeen. However, though slightly empty, this current one was _neat._ Naruto had been so used to the messiness that he felt rather odd living here.

Several sets of short drawers lined the left wall, probably storing his other sets of Shinigami uniform inside. Tatami mats covered the floor, and a large futon was lying at the right end side. A low table was seated right at the center of the room, with four or five zabuton scattered around it. A lone tokonoma scroll hung on the right wall, and two okiandon lamps were fixed on opposite walls. Lastly, a long mirror was plastered at the edge of the right wall and a shoji screen door was at the far end of the room, rays of the evening sunlight filtering through the washi paper, leading to the balcony.

Naruto plopped down with a sigh on his comfy bed, enjoying the softness off it all. " Yup. Being a Shinigami isn't that bad after all…those stupid morons." He chuckled into his pillows. " Up till now and they still haven't realized it…how much stupider can those people-in-black get?"

_

* * *

_

A few weeks later.

Naruto was bored. Really bored. He idly wondered why he was doing this sort of things for the repulsive Shinigamis in the first place. He gazed at the slip of paper clutched tightly in his fists, its edges worn out and crumpled, and its words barely even legible now.

But if you really squint, you can make up the words _" 2nd Division Meeting room, 7.00p.m." _That was all it said. Nothing more.

_Flashback._

_Soifon sighed and rubbed her temples as she sat in front of the General Commander, having just arrived to the meeting room. This was starting to turn into a major headache. Up till now, it seemed that Uzumaki Naruto was not the brash kind, but surprisingly, he was behaving like an absolute angel- like was a proper Shinobi would behave like. She just knew he wasn't the obedient type. She knew._

_Missing files. Gum under chairs. Tattered books. Dung bombs and Smoke bombs going off at every corner. And strangely enough, massive losses of instant cup Ramen. And it was him, she knew. Because these things started happening after he came in. Frustratingly enough, she couldn't blame the 'perfect Shinigami who never failed any mission before'. That's it; it'll be war. You want a chase; I'll give you the chase of your life._

_But what she didn't know, was that the Uzumaki she was thinking of now, was just crouched above her, hidden perfectly in the shadows, a thin sheet of barely detectably Reiatsu coating the underside of his shoes so that he will not fall off the ceiling at any time soon. _

_He was clutching the sheet of paper he found lying on his captain's desk. Well, he didn't exactly steal it or anything; it was lying there, unnoticed and just begging for him to take it. And there wasn't anybody in the room either. So he took it and left. And it guided him here. Oh goodie, he could sense that something interesting is going to happen soon too. _

_And one more thing- since he was here for information in the first place, this is a good chance to try and find out anything interesting and worth taking note off. The 2nd division's libraries all held nothing but useless junk on the histories of the 'Shihoin clan','Shunpo' and ridiculous literatures. Nothing on what he wanted, so in his frustration, he sort of…ripped a few books off and…some poor person had taken the blame for him. Wasn't that sweet of him to do so? Naruto made another mental apology to the poor guy whom he had framed._

" _Soifon taichou?" An old man's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Naruto observed as his captain hastily stood up and bowed. Ha! Someone as stuck up as her, bowing? It was unbelievable if Naruto hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes._

" _My apologies, I was err…to caught up with my thoughts that I didn't know the meeting had started, I-" she babbled on but was cut off by a chuckle from the old man. In Naruto's opinion, that old man should probably be long dead by now, with his many wrinkles and his long white hair, all traces off gray gone. Or maybe stuffed into a wheelchair, not an active Shinigami. So that's their General Commander, huh? Thankfully he's old- he's bound to retire soon; Naruto could take over pretty fast._

" _Never mind. Now, about the Uzumaki boy…" Yamamoto said as he flipped through Naruto's report during these few months, which was handed to him by Soifon the day before. " It seems to me that the boy is doing fine…how's his training going?"_

_Training? What training? Naruto perked up at those words and narrowed his eyes at the strange meeting taking place before him, with the two Shinigamis still oblivious of his presence- and he intended to keep it that way. Soooo, he was under surveillance, huh?_

_Soifon shrugged half-heartedly. " So-so. He tried to hide it, but I realize that he's now able to use his reiatsu in a similar fashion as he uses 'chakra'. I don't know if he's able to use any ninjutsu yet, but with the proper control and amount, it might be a possibility."_

'_Crap,' Naruto foully thought. ' They already knew that much?' He had wanted to just listen in to their mundane conversation and half snoozing, but it appeared that he had to pay full attention to them now. Especially since it was a conversation regarding himself. He should be feeling honored, but strangely, he was not._

_Yamamoto nodded, but still remained silent, urging Soifon to continue. She exhaled deeply and drowned on about her observations. " But I realize one mistake on your reports you've given me. Sure, he has an extraordinary amount of reiatsu, but he doesn't seem to be lacking behind over his control at all. In fact, his control may be slightly over average and poor, but it's still…passable. Everything he does, however, seems to be passable. It's like he wasn't putting any effort into these things at all. And yet he competed his tasks so quickly too." _

_Naruto snorted. 'That's because every mission you gave me is a D-ranked mission, shinobi standards, you stupid taichou.' Of course he would've did them quickly. He would've done them perfectly too, except that he didn't want to stand out too much, so he held back a little. So much for that, it just earned him unwanted attention. Yamamoto nodded again and flipped though the reports absentmindedly. " Anything else you'd like to tell?"_

" _No." Soifon said immediately. She would rather like a transfer and shove him of to…Isshin or Mayuri, or somebody else except her, but she knew her request would be instantaneously rejected, so she just shook her head no, and bowed out of the room._

" _And Soifon taichou," Yamamoto called out to her as he too stood up and prepared to leave through the other door at the side of the room. Soifon turned around, somewhat confused. Wasn't the meeting supposed to be over? Yamamoto smiled. " I think Uzumaki deserves a rise."_

_Above, Naruto paled and hold his breath, tensed up. Crap…was he found out?_

" _But he's only been here for two weeks, and his Shikai training hasn't even started yet…" Soifon protested. Yamamoto waved a hand unconcernedly as he walked off._

" _Don't worry about it. At this level, he will be able to kill minor hollows with his Hakuda and Zanjutsu. At the most, he could retreat and let his companions take over if things get too rough for him to handle." Yamamoto said. " But I suggest not to give him anything outside our surveillance field."_

" _If you say so…" Soifon muttered as she looked at the General Commander's back. She shrugged and walked out through the other door, neither off them noticing a figure detaching itself from the shadows and shunpo-ing off._

_End Flashback._

Back to the present. Naruto was now sitting on top of a fence in one of the more rowdy districts in Rukongai. This particular alley was where the most number of fights took place, but seeing a fully clad Shinigami just sitting there and staring down at the passing people with glazed over eyes (from too much thinking) was just enough to scare them from starting a fight.

Naruto did know when to be intimidating when he wanted to. He had placed a black hood over his bright hair that hid his eyes somewhat from view, the effect making people weary of him, mostly as the usual Shinigami that patrolled the area slacks off and gambles...

So…he was wheedled out and put under special surveillance, huh? Naruto had expected just that much. He was not stupid, no matter how he looked like. Having a Shinigami immediately beside you as soon as you die and invited to become one immediately after…this sort of things are just not normal. Who would let someone become a Shinigami if you can't even coordinate your limbs properly?

Then, him not attending the usual basic Academy and chucked into training with a one-on-one tutorial with a high ranked Shinigami…and then receiving his Zanpakuto from a special room too, not one specially crafted by himself. Furthermore, Naruto doubted that the exams he had taken were the ones everybody took. He wondered how people like Rukia or Akira managed to pass, fighting seated officers like Hinamori and Renji. It was just not…correct.

Damn these Shinigamis…how stupid do they think Uzumaki Naruto can get?

" Oei, did you see our new Shinigami? What's up with him, that stuck-up brat? Just sitting there, brooding away, not even coming down to chat!" A passing village girl whispered rather loudly to her friend beside her, tsking at his behavior. Naruto twitched at that, not even noticing his attitude while doing his duties. Well, it doesn't matter. The people from the second division were all going around looking as though they had kunais stuck up they're asses anyway. And he _was_ put in the second division after all.

" So what if I'm brooding up here? You got an gloomy Shinigami now, so deal with that okay?" Naruto yelled at the two girls, who immediately turned and blushed a bright crimson at being heard, then scattering away. Naruto huffed to himself and shifted a little, then settling down on the thin fence again, balancing his weight as though he had done this his entire life-, which he had. He? Uzumaki Naruto brooding like that Uchiha? The world must be collapsing pretty soon. Stupid village girls.

But then, he supposed kami must be playing, or maybe laughing, at him right now. Maybe he deserved that. Truthfully, Naruto admitted, he only agreed to register as a Shinigami, withstood the harsh training, only because he could get into the fortress called Seireitei. Why? To steal information, namely information on how to enter the living world.

Yet, being as lowly ranked as he is, couldn't get into the main library and only had usage to the 2nd division's. Which had a load of crap. 'There should have been a way to enter the mortal plane…' Naruto reasoned. ' Isn't a Shinigami's job to 'go save the lost souls' down there? Then how do they get through those dimensions?'

Sadly, being as low ranked as he, he would not be able to go across between the two planes until he had gained enough seniority. And even then, he would not be able to control the 'gates' to where they should open to and at what time, until he was of captain level. It was a very sad day.

Now, not only was his plan failing, he found out that Seireitei had taken an extra interest in him, whatever the reason might be. Maybe because he still managed to somehow retain most of his memories? But no matter what it might be, it is not good. With everyone watching him, it'll be making his sneaking job a lot harder. A lot.

And what must probably be the worst thing ever, in the entire 'go back to the real world' thingy, he now found himself the loyal dog of Seireitei. Going around on patrols, arranging the scrolls in the library, cleaning the numerous divisions in Seireitei, and basically, just doing mundane, manual work. Back to the old D-ranks. Great. He wasn't even committed to this junky shitty place.

Naruto reviewed his options. One, he could slack off while doing his appointed 'missions', acting extremely retarded and stupid and then getting screamed and bashed around by his taichou. Or two, he could keep a low profile, to the surprise of his captain, and do all his jobs perfectly- which would take up a unnecessary and excessive amount of his time and muscles. Both choices are really painful, in different ways.

Naruto decided to go for the second option. Not letting everyone be wary of him and of course, no one would suspect him, will they? Now, isn't that easy? Yup, he'll take a step at a time, there's no need to hurry.

Naruto grinned wickedly suddenly as that thought flashed into his mind, accidentally scaring off several passer-bys as he did so. He stood up quickly, brushed himself down and stretched his limbs, which were a little sore for sitting in that position for the last past hour.

If Soul Society wants obedience from him, then obedience they'll get. Carefully planning out his attitude for the next few months, Naruto chuckled out loud rather evilly, scaring off more passer-bys. Not even taking notice of them, Naruto shunpo-ed away, towards to main gates of Seireitei. Arrgh, he'll just go and report that everything is stable there. He should've scared the villagers enough by now.

The villagers of district 74 looked at each other, confused and slightly petrified by their new Shinigami's mood swings.

" We seriously have got a weirdo a our Shinigami this time."

* * *

" Back so soon?" Soifon asked rather tetchily as she the blond idiot in front of her desk, _again._ It seemed that no matter what task she gave him, he always completes it in half a time what a normal Shinigami his rank would do. Of course, the work wasn't exactly perfect either; it was just passable. But still, having him reporting back every few hours… Soifon glared at one of her seated officers next to her desk. He nodded and ran out of the room, going out to double check on Naruto's handiwork.

It would be nice if she could send him out on a high-ranking solo mission involving a big Menos Grande and get him 'accidentally' killed, she thought idly as she tapped her fingers impatiently, waiting for her subordinate to return. But then again, she'll probably get a death penalty from the other captains for the 'destruction of their ultimate weapon' or something like that.

Stupid. She thought moodily as she strummed her fingers against her desk. It's not like he has some hidden self-explosive atomic bomb inside his stomach or anything. And she didn't find any fault with him at all. Weapon indeed. Special surveillance. _Pah._ As though he could explode any second. They should have just put him in Jyuushiro's squad and ask him to take care of his plants in the thirteenth division's garden to go and 'train his patience' instead of putting him _here_ of all places. She'd never asked for him in the first place: she declined the offer. Life isn't fair.

The seated officer shunpo-ed next to her, a little out of breath about having run all the way to the 74th district and back, but nevertheless reported that the district was calm and no fights was sighted. Soifon didn't know whether to throw a tantrum or be happy that she got such a speedy and efficient guy in her division. Who could calm down the entire hellish 74th district in only four hours? _Four_. It would take at least _a day_ for that district to realize that no, no more fights are accepted there. And Naruto scared the shit out of them in less than a day.

" It seems that Uzumaki is a natural at this job." The officer commented. Naruto shifted his sword a little and shrugged nonchalantly, as if it was an everyday thing to get praised. Soifon felt a twitch of annoyance at his attitude. She hated people with these kind of attitudes, but couldn't exactly punish him for doing that, so she had no choice to let him off. She hated _everything_ about this kid standing in front of her. She didn't know why herself.

" Okay, okay. Go on, you're free for the day." Soifon sighed and signaled for him to exit, apparently running out of missions to give him and calling it a day. Its not like she had a grudge against him or anything; its just that she likes to pick her members out properly, not just have one messily shoved into her division. '_I think Uzumaki deserves a rise.' _Soifon frowned as she remembered that particular sentence from a week ago.

Meanwhile, Naruto saluted and bowed out of the room, closing the door quietly before straightening up and walking down the blissfully empty corridors. _' Stupid Shinigamis…and it was a highly secured room too.'_ A smirk could be seen forming over his hooded face as he pocketed a small piece of paper into one of the many folds of his robes. _' Soon, you'll learn never to underestimate Uzumaki Naruto.'_

* * *

Naruto was too absorbed with his piece of paper he had nicked from his unsuspecting captain that he didn't even notice where his feet had taken him. Soon, he found himself seated on one of the resting benches of the dojo, reading and re-reading his paper over and over again. It looks as though someone had already took the sheaf of paper before him- it was torn into two. From what could be read however, was only the words **" –g-ok-u, e-tr-ct w-t –K--Se"**

Naruto pondered over these few jumbled up alphabets, but gave up trying to understand their meaning. He'll ask Toushiro later. Great, finally nicked something before discovering that it was junk. Greeaat. But there was another motive too.

Ahh, he'd wonder how long it'll take for his captain to realize that he had managed to steal something from her desk…he snickered out loudly as he mentally pictured the image. Serves her right, that pompous, old, arrogant, snobbish, I'm-better-than-you taichou with a big head full of stale air…speaking of stale air…it seems that there was a rather mild pungent smell close to him.

Naruto immediately lifted the paper up to his nose and took a sniff. The ink was still fresh: it was only written today. But the parchment stank. It was as though someone had recently puked in it. Gross. Why does he always end up with these sorts of stupid rotting rubbishes whenever he actually tries to nick something properly? Kami must really be laughing at him right now. Oh please, let this paper at least have a little value for his taichou….if it was rubbish, Naruto would probably commit something drastic like seppuku this instant. Thankfully, Soifon still treasured it…. To a certain extend at least.

Naruto's grin got wider as he heard hurried footsteps approaching not too far away. He grin broadened further as the footsteps came closer and murderous Reiatsu pressure could easily be felt. Finally, the door of the dojo slid open with a loud bang and the secondth division's taichou stood in the doorway, red in the face and Reiatsu flaring dangerously. All the other occupants in the room froze halfway during their spars and glanced nervously at each other, a bit confused and intimidated at the hostile presence in front of them.

Naruto too, stood up, though in a more calm manner with a neutral face and smoothly slid the piece of parchment into his front robes without anyone noticing what he had just did, since all eyes were fixed on their angry taichou in front and that he was partially hidden because of his small frame and because he was at the back of the large room.

"S-Soifon-taichou? What can we help you with?" One small build guy at the back of the room stuttered out. Soifon didn't bother to reply as she scanned the room with her hawk-like eyes instead. Finally, those pair of chilling onyx eyes fell onto Naruto whose bright yellow hair stood out like a sore thumb amidst the black in the crowd.

" UZUMAKI NARUTO!" Soifon screamed as Naruto quickly put on his 'oh-no-what-have-I-done-now' face. She strangely sounded like a certain Godaime Hokage back at home. All thoughts of her being similar to Tsunade was vanished in an instant as Naruto had to duck as his furious captain unleashed a high level sixty-one '_rikujōkōrō (Six Rods Prison of Light)' _on him.

Sheesh, why was she that angry? Naruto knew that she had really hated him, but to go to that extent? The taichou's face looked really close to exploding! Then it hit him, Naruto realized that the paper he nicked,(no matter how stinky it was), was a really important document. Oh goodie. His little prank went a tad too far.

" You." Soifon snarled, clutching Naruto tightly at his collar before Naruto could process what had just happened. " You, are coming with me to receive your punishment for boldly stealing one of the documents from your own captain."

" What? What did I steal?" Naruto spluttered out, hand automatically grasping the other one which was chocking him. " I didn't steal anything."

" Yes you did, you insolent toe-rag!" Soifon snarled. " Who else would have done so, besides you?" and before Naruto had a chance to reply, Soifon had roughly dragged him out of the Dojo and marching briskly back to the office.

Naruto had barely enough time to regain his balance, and with his bum nearly touching the polished floor and at the speed the furious captain was going, it looked like he wouldn't be able to gain the leverage to do so. So he contented himself to being roughly dragged back to the office by his captain without lifting a muscle.

Finally, as the entered the office, Soifon tossed him ruthlessly onto the hard floor and slid the door shut hard with a loud bang. " You," she said maliciously, her eyes glinting. " You, are going to hand that over to me now, or face the consequences. And I'm telling you this- it's not going to be pretty."

Naruto faked a sad look and mumbled a dejected 'Fine.'. He slowly reached his hand inside his robes. Slowly, after a few painfully agonizing seconds, he withdrew a thin sheet of parchment messily folded, it's edges torn and worn out, and handed it over to his impatient captain. Soifon immediately snatched it out of his hands, masking her relieved face with a mask of annoyance.

She hastily opened it to check if its contents were still safe, but as soon as she did that, smoke suddenly exploded directly into her face, making her start coughing and hacking violently. It slowly cleared to show that this was not the paper she was looking for, but instead, was just a sloppily drawn face with the untidy scrawl of _'HA! You have been fooled by the Great Uzumaki Naruto!'_.

Soifon, whose eyes were still blurry and watering from the powder which burst on her just now, looked up just to see that yes indeed, Uzumaki Naruto was gone. A large gaping hole stood in one of her beautifully painted walls instead; the sunlight and grass outside could clearly be seen. _Which dignified Shinobi would brazenly burst through walls to escape?_

It took a few seconds for her to finally catch up with what was happening. Finally, the gears in her stunned brain activated as she tried to rub the powder out from her rapidly swelling and now puffy eyes.

" NARUTOOOOOOO!! GET YOUR SORRY ASS BACK HERE AND LET ME KICK IT!"

**

* * *

**

Author's Notes:

**I was seriously was planning to submit this on Friday, but was too caught up with my schoolwork. Man, those Secondary 2 teachers are **_**demonic**_**!! But I really spent a lot of time trying my best to improve my chapters…I didn't really try that hard in the first few chapters… ;D.**

Okay, okay. I know Naruto is kinda goofy here, but I need his attitude to make this story funny. Toushiro's a somber character already, and if I made Naruto one too…what do get if you make serious + serious? … But don't worry. Naruto has common sense and institution…I think. And he's not _that_ clumsy and much more matured now.

Please stop asking about the other Naruto characters. One or two will definitely appear. But not too soon. Let me concentrate on Naruto's stay here first. So please be patient and wait awhile.

I'm not sure what's wrong with all of you…but I received a few ' I hate yama' reviews… did I really make the old mad that cruel? Gomenasai! But I can't stand his strict attitude sometimes too, so…and I _try_ to get a fight scene in a soon as possible.

Anyways, to sum it up, thanks to everyone who reviewed, and of possible please visit my joined account at _/u/1424489/_( or find **YuzukiSakura1994 **under my favourite authors.)

So thanks anyway, for reading up till this far.


	10. The Captain's Wrath

Enjoy:

**Chapter 10: ****大尉の憤り　（****taii no ikidoori) The Captain's Wrath.**

* * *

Seireitei is a beautiful place; willow trees swinging gently in the breeze, the splashes of water coming from the large pond where Koi fishes and carps were lazing about, and the last warm rays of the setting sun shone down upon it, adding to the calm and relaxing effect. Uzumaki Naruto leaned back contently on the top of the thirteenth division's main building, doing what all Nara (except that he isn't one) loves best- cloud gazing.

Naruto snickered as he heard several crashes and shouting coming from inside the building. His captain- probably blind by now by the rapid swelling of her eyes- was doubtlessly throwing a fit and throwing her chairs around in the office. Naruto snickered again. Ahhh…it's good to piss her of. The results were often very, _very_ entertaining. Hmm…should he go down to prod her even more?

His 'creative' thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he sensed an all-too-familiar Reiatsu sign approaching him. That fellow has significantly lowered his Reiatsu, probably trying to avoid detection, but Naruto had far better senses than that. He spoke up once the person was within hearing distance. " So… you managed to sneak in huh? It's actually not that a difficult feat for someone as short as you."

Toushiro behind sighed at being caught so quickly by a _rookie_ took but sat down beside him nevertheless_._ But then again, it's not like he was even trying to be sneaky in the first place. With his Reiatsu lowered until this much, low-ranking Shinigamis wouldn't have even sensed his presence in the first place. Naruto will surely be promoted, with that rate he was going at. Toushiro sighed again.

" When are you going to stop going on and on about me and my shortness? You got a problem with that?" Toushiro grumbled as he shifted his foot to try and make himself comfortable, since the roof was, after all, slanted, hard, and slippery. " Just because I won that poll for the _'highest ranking shortie'_ in soul society doesn't mean-"

" You WON the poll?" Naruto interrupted Toushiro's rant, eyes wide. " You actually _won_?"

" Zip it." Toushiro grumbled, pouting and crossing his arms as turned his face to the side. " That was outdated. It was taken ten years ago, and I was only a sixth seater at that time. "

" Yeah, but currently, none of the captains or vice captains are shorter then you, right?" Naruto asked. Toushiro pondered on it for a moment.

" If you count Hinamori…" He said sulkily, not wanting to admit the fact that he was, unfortunately, _still_ the current shortest, yet already knowing exactly where Naruto's thoughts are drifting towards. Naruto waved his hand impatiently.

" Shorter, idiot. _Shorter_. She's taller than you, incase you still haven't noticed. And since you're a third seater now, none of the vice-captains or third seaters are shorter too, right?" Naruto smiled and patted Toushiro on the head, trying to look understanding. But since he was Naruto and all, the expression turned out to resemble a smug smile instead. " So that still makes you the 'highest ranking shortie' king in soul society!"

" I said zip it!" Toushiro angrily swatted Naruto's hand off from his head, face red, either from anger or embarrassment. " What are you doing up here anyway?" He grumbled, trying to steer of the current subject, which was pointless and sickening to him. " I thought I'd be finding you snoring away in your sleep."

Naruto turned his head back to the front and gazed into the sky, a smile tugging at his lips. " I just wanted to watch the sunset from a higher point. Is there anything wrong with that?"

" There's nothing wrong with it, I do that too." Toushiro turned his head to where Naruto was gazing at and his expression softened, somewhat. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

" It brings back memories." They said together, exactly at the same time. Then there was a pause and they looked at each other in confusion before bursting out into laughter at their strangely synchronized actions.

" You too?" Toushiro asked, snorting a bit. " I didn't thought you'll waste your time doing dreary, mundane things like this. You'll probably be jumping around, seeing that you're the hyperactive kind."

" I usually jump around. Usually because of training with my friends. Err…from last time." Naruto agreed, surprised that Toushiro had even bothered making time to sit down and stare at the sun. He was always complaining about paperwork and boring missions or squad training. "But afterwards, we'll climb up the Hokage Mountain for a rest, and then we'll see the sunset there. And then, that Sasuke will always box me for interrupting his little emo time with the sky and Shikamaru will nag at me for interrupting his 'cloud gazing'."

" This Sasuke…he's your best friend right?" Toushiro asked. " I've never met him before, but from the way you keep ranting on and on about him, I could tell he's one of your closest friends."

" …Err…" Naruto paused midway, never thinking what an outsider would see it as. Sasuke? His _best friend_? He didn't know how it developed to that level, but somehow, it just _happened_. "You could say that. But our friendship was made up of rivalry more than anything else. And, we spend ninety-nine percent of our time together quarreling, so I don't know what makes you say that." Naruto looked at Toushiro strangely at the bizarre question he was asked, and then snickered as he came to a conclusion. "Aww…Is Shiro-chan _jealous_?"

" No!" Toushiro exclaimed, trying to fake a look disgust. " I'm not that close to you until I'll be jealous of your _still-living_ best friend. You forgot- it's always best if you do not get close to anyone while in this line of work." Toushiro's face hardened. " And putting these inane topics aside, there's something urgent I need to talk to you about."

Naruto looked at Toushiro strangely, curious to what Toushiro wanted. The shorter boy looked dead serious about the topic they were going to discuss- Toushiro's eyes had lost their mischievous gleam and his mouth was set in a hard line. Naruto stood up and jumped off the roof with fox-like movements, landing on the nearby roof neatly, looking expectantly at the platinum haired boy, who got the message and followed, just as swift as the former.

" Where are we going? Isn't there secured enough?" Toushiro asked as he shunpo-ed beside Naruto, who just glared at the other frustratingly.

" No you idiot, there are loads of people rushing in and out just now, and I don't want to be risked getting spotted." Naruto said in a matter-of-fact voice. " So, we're going to my room instead- which I have placed seals onto, so that nobody can eardrop or enter without permission."

" What's wrong with talking there?" Toushiro sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes. "Don't tell me that you're scared of your own squad members? You had a week or two of interaction, right?"

" Actually, no. I'm currently just escaping from the wrath of my captain." Naruto said, preparing his reiatsu for another shunpo. " And about the interaction thingy…well, the taichou usually sends me on solo missions most of the time. And the rest were used for eating ramen and playing pranks on others whom I do not even know."

' _Che. So now they tries to isolate him, huh?'_ Toushiro kept that in the back of his mind for another time and asked, " Then what about your training?"

" Training? They just gave me a list of different Kidou spells, their chants and their ability, and test me after a week. What? You think it's one-to-one training? Hey, I'm not that privileged." Naruto snorted. " Okay, enough chat already, I think we have arrived. Quick get inside- then you can tell me whatever you like, if it's that secretive and all."

Toushiro would have never thought that Naruto would be this thoughtful. He stepped into the basic quarters of a rookie Shinigami, feeling the door slid shut behind him- probably by Naruto. He took a deep breath.

' _Let's get this started then. Before I start to regret my actions.'_

* * *

" Weeell? What are we discussing today?" Naruto gave a wide Cheshire-like grin to his first ever guest in his room, namely Toushiro. Toushiro sniffed and muttered something muffled under his breath. Naruto's smile grew wider. " Weeeellll?" He always did this to scare people into talking, but that was usually when he had his mask on and Sasuke's murderous killing intent blowing off in strong waves next to him.

" Weeeelll?" He tried one more time. In the end, after deciding that his face just can't be compared with Sasuke's forever sullen one, Naruto huffed and propping his chin up using his palms, irritated at Toushiro's twitching.

" Well?" He demanded, giving up all pretenses. " What's so important that you're just _dying_ to tell me?" Naruto asked. " Not literally, I mean. You're already dead." He added as an afterthought. He prodded Toushiro with a finger as no response came. " Heeey. Shiiiiiro-chaaaaan…"

" Nothing said here will leave the room, okay? For both parties." Toushiro stated penetratingly and waited patiently for Naruto's assented nod before continuing. " Theyreafteryou." Toushiro finally burst out, saying that sentence quickly. He exhaled deeply after that. Naruto, however, look as though he didn't quite catch that line.

"…What?" He asked, sounding confused. " Ah, gomen, I didn't catch that."

" They. Are. After. You." Toushiro repeated carefully, wondering why he was telling that to Naruto in the first place. He wondered why he even bothered about the blonde after the latter graduated into a Shinigami- he's no longer legally in charge of that boy's case already, ever since the training was over.

" Who?" Naruto asked. " My juniors in the academy whom I don't even know?"

" The captains." Toushiro muttered and closed his eyes contritely. " The captains of the thirteen divisions are keeping a close eye on you. Which means, the entire Seireitei too."

Toushiro opened his eyes to observe the other's reaction. To his surprise however, Naruto did not over react, not that it mattered if he did anyway, since Naruto already claimed that the room was soundproofed. Yet, all Naruto did was let out a dull 'I know' and kept his gaze directed downwards.

" How did you find out?" Toushiro asked sharply. Knowing that Toushiro won't report him to anybody – why would that boy do that if he was telling this top-secret to him? – Naruto told Toushiro about the meeting between Yamamoto and Soifon, but tweaked it a little, making it seem as though he had chanced upon it rather than deliberately going there to 'spy' on them. He didn't mention why he decided to stay in the first place, just diving straight into the conversation that took place instead.

Finally, once Naruto was done with the explanation and Toushiro nodded in understanding, the two fell into silence for a while, each having a thousand questions in their heads but not really knowing to the actually phrase them properly. After that brief awkward moment, Naruto spoke up. " Errm…May I ask, why are they after me in the first place?"

" I…don't really know why…" Toushiro looked hesitant and bit his lip, wondering whether he should tell the other or not. _'Oh well, I already told him this much, might as well tell him everything I know.' _So, he decided to plunge on recklessly. " But what I do know is that they're gonna try and use you as their tool. Because recently, the twelfth division's captain found a large flaw in Seireitei's defenses. So instead of figuring out a way to repair it, it seems that the captains have decided to have you, to act as their bodyguards instead."

" Then why me?" Naruto asked sharply. He knew that Seireitei has taken a particular interest in him, but he dismissed it just because of the simple reason that he thought that they were just interested because of his occupation when he was alive. Now, he realized that it was _because_ of his occupation that leaded him to his current dilemma. Never did he ever think that being a Shinobi would lead him to this much trouble.

" It's because I'm a shinobi, isn't it?" He asked flatly. Toushiro nodded heavily in reply, holding his breath to wait for the explosion. Naruto continued on. " And the reason why I was sent into the second division was because…."

" Probably to train you on your patience and obedience." Toushiro said, brain already guessing the reason when Kurosaki-taichou told him that Naruto would be going to the second division. " Although from what I can make out of, Soifon-taichou seems to object into having you. She hates rebellious and loudmouth people, namely you. I think you were automatically placed into her group; meaning that the General-commander didn't ask for her opinion for that matter too. That's why she's so sore about it."

Naruto looked down at his hands, his front bangs covering his eyes, his shoulders shaking in what probably be in rage. Toushiro waited for the explosion. " I…I thought you guys are all…supposed to be, you know, nice people and all that kind of stuff…I mean, Jyuushiro taichou and Kurosaki taichou…and to think that I trusted you…you all…I thought you were all…you would see me differently from a _monster_. "

Toushiro rested a hand on Naruto's shoulder. " Officially yes, the captains are seeing you as a tool. But not all support that idea- Isshin and Jyuushiro-taichou being two of the few. And you have my support too, as well as Renji's. What makes you say that you're a monster anyway?"

Receiving no response from the blond, Toushiro tried again. The only time he ever saw Naruto like that was when he first entered Seireitei. And to tell the truth, it was very erroneous to see the usually hyper Naruto looking like that. It was just…not right. Just plain wrong. " Look, I'm really sorry I got you into this mess. I shouldn't have asked you to become a Shinigami in the first place. It's all my fault." Toushiro said heavily, leaning back on his zabuton. Naruto will probably hate Seireitei to the core by now. And he didn't want to see what an angry shinobi can do.

That sentence, however, seemed to snap Naruto back into reality as the blond threw his head back and begun laughing. Very, very loudly. " D-Don't worry about it, Shiro-chan! I chose to be one anyway- I'm in as much fault as you." He grinned before bursting out laughing again, clutching his ribs. Toushiro twitched. And here he was, worrying for that boy even coming here, risking his neck, to warn in about the possible dangers he was in, and what did he get for return? Laughter. Naruto was now spluttering things like 'stupid Shinigamis' and ' use me indeed' as he clutched his stomach painfully.

Then he suddenly sat up straight, all laughter forgotten and slammed his palm on the table, making Toushiro jump at that sudden movement and abrupt change of attitude. Toushiro's right hand had already clutched the hit of his zanpakuto as he looked around blindly, inspecting an intruder. After realizing his mistake, he relaxed his grip and dished out yet another glare to Naruto. Before he could say out a scathing insult however, Naruto was already talking very feverishly; the blond's face was swelling up with indigence.

" Screw you again Toushiro! Why do you always like to play with my mind?! Those old geezers can try and control me all they like- I'd like to see them try!" Naruto's voice rose higher and higher with each word he said. Toushiro blinked owlishly.

" What? I didn't '_play with your mind'_, I was stating the facts!" He said, confused. " You…you should be grateful for what I'm doing! Yet you're scolding me! What sort of gratitude is this?"

" You did play with it! You just tried to discourage me from being a Shinigami, didn't you? Well let me tell you something - I, Uzumaki Naruto, am not quitting, 'cause I won't go back on my words! That's my ninja way, and no one is going to stop me! Not even you!" Naruto said, rapidly and heatedly. He took a deep breath and sat down on his zabuton again, somewhat huffily yet with an air of satisfaction at his words. Toushiro sat there speechless for a second before he unstuck his tongue.

"You …you ungrateful idiot. You didn't hear my last question, didn't you?" He grumbled, though he tried to hide the small smile on his face. "Mattaku, I didn't discourage you. I just said that if you continue, you'd be facing loads of difficulties from now onwards. Though I wonder why…out of all the many Shinobis, why did they pick you?"

" Dunno. Maybe I'm the only one who died with all my body parts still being intact at the exact same time that they searched for a Shinobi to serve them. So they conveniently grabbed me." Naruto shrugged and slouched all over the table, pondering on what he should do to them for 'payback'. " Did they mention anything?" He asked Toushiro.

" No…" Toushiro stood up and headed to the door. " Okay, it's getting dark, I'd better get going least my captain will start nagging. I'm not supposed to be disclosing this information to anyone, especially you, and I'm making a big risk already but telling you this. So don't let it slip, alright?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and snorted. " Of course I won't _Shiro-chan_. Even I know how important it is and the oh-so-drastic consequences you and I will face if it slips, so you have better not tell anyone that I peeked into the captain's meeting too."

" Don't call me that." Toushiro gave a halfhearted glare at Naruto but sighed and straightened his sword on his back instead. " And don't mention or leak out anymore information about your past life, alright? They think that they succeeded in erasing your memories, so we'll keep it that way. I think my captain heard you the last time, but he's always mostly drunk, so maybe he'll forget."

" Hai, hai." Naruto sighed at Toushiro's constant fussing. " I got it, I got it." He paused and called out. " Oh yeah, have you apologized to that girl, Rukia, yet?"

" No, why should I?" Came Toushiro's immediate answer. " I won't apologize to my _juniors_. Not unless she apologizes first." The air turned frosty and Naruto chuckled nervously. Oops, bad topic. Apparently, Toushiro was still sore after getting scolded by his junior and then getting whacked by her for no good reason. Toushiro continued. " And anyways, you should be worrying about yourself, not me."

" What?" Naruto asked, somewhat dumbly. " I'm not the one who offended the ice princess, you did-"

" No!" Toushiro impatiently sighed. " Soifon taichou got you into her squad without her approval. She's definitely sour about this. You're going to have a hard life under her. And the General Commander is keeping a close watch over both she and you."

" Daijoubu, Shiro-chan. It'll all work out in the end, trust me." Naruto gave the boy a 'nice guy pose' and cheerfully waved Toushiro off as the white haired boy climbed onto the balcony's railing. " Believe me, I've lead a harder life than this. A few old coots plotting against me won't make a difference. And it's not like I believe in a 'sealed fate' or anything like that."

Toushiro rolled his eyes and prepared to jump off. He stopped halfway and turned to Naruto. " Oh yeah. I'm not quite sure, but I heard Kurotsuchi taichou talking something about this 'kyuubi' or something…does it ring any bells, Naruto?"

Naruto had frozen at his spot, his eyes blank. He slowly snapped back to earth. " What? Oh…no. Never." Toushiro raised and eyebrow but chose not to reply and shunpo-ed off. Watching Toushiro's silhouette blend into the darkness f the night, Naruto turned away and hurriedly walked back into his room and collapsed into his soft puffy bed in a heap, letting his exhaustion overtake him, hoping that he will have a nice, dreamless sleep. Something tells him hat he was going to need it, a lot. Because he doesn't think that Soifon will let that incident go unreported and ignored.

* * *

" _You…you…Usuratonkachi! Did you know what a serious offence you had just committed?!" _

" _What serious offence? I don't remember creating any recently. You're the one who was repeatedly complaining about the stuffy weather and that you were hot and sweaty, and you just couldn't stop to pay attention to the baa-chan…. and blahblahblahblah, so I did that to shut you up. Think of it as a kind act for a fellow teammate- that was my last bottle."_

" _You just poured, a bucket of water over my head. Over my hair…" _

" _Oops, sorry, I forgotten, Sasuke-chan. Your godforsaken hair is drenched. What a great tragedy." _

" _I… I'll kill you…"_

" _Bring it on, Teme!" _

" _You're asking for it!"_

" _Hah! Like you'll be able to beat me anyway!"_

Naruto awoke with a jot and sat up straight in his bed, that dream still fresh and vivid in his mind. He wondered why it suddenly sprang out to him like that. That particular memory happened a long, long time ago, when teams seven were still young naïve genins, fresh out of the academy. When Sasuke hasn't left Konoha for Orochimaru yet…so you could say that the dream was very random. But Naruto was somewhat relieved that he remembered such an old thing, meaning that his memories were still intact and with him.

That was one other thing he was scared of the most, after coming into Soul Society and then into Seireitei. He was scared that he would forget his friends, the ones who had helped him escaped from his childhood hell of loneness. He was scared that he would forget himself…would he turn into Gaara from when before Naruto had the chance to befriend him? Would Seireitei finally succeed into molding him into their loyal tool?

Naruto couldn't bear to turn into Gaara. Oh no, he wasn't going to turn into something as psychopathic as _that_. Snapping Gaara out of it and then turning into something similar afterwards, what a joke.

Besides, he could still remember most of it, so let's just put this matter aside for now, shall we? With that in mind, Naruto hastily began to change and dashed out of his door, wanting to get some Ramen with more milk for breakfast. Hmm…should he have miso today, or chicken?

* * *

Naruto was coming back from his breakfast and heading towards the outdoor training field, planning to get on with his morning training before the big burly man (whatever his name is; Naruto called him blubber) who was in charge of training and also the second division's vice captain, could make him do extra rounds. Not that he minded or anything.

Realizing that he was late for training and if he kept this pace up, he would really have to do extra rounds plus keeping the equipment up, Naruto decided to make a dash for the field. As he rounded up a corner, he bumped into something not so hard yet not so soft, sending him sprawling onto the floor, rubbing is head from the impact.

He looked up only to see his very own captain, Soifon, looking mutinous and glaring down at him. Ahh…she was still angry about the powder. Speaking of the swelling powder he had exploded onto her face yesterday, most of the swelling had gone down, only a few bumps could be spotted if you squint. Now she looked as though she had large, heavy eye bags under her eyes.

Naruto and grinned at her from the floor rather shamefacedly. " Err…ohayo taichou…?" He greeted her sounding very awkward. Soifon blinked at the greeting and glared at her subordinate angrily, though her face was still rather red at the embarrassing state she was in. And it was all because of _him._

"You…" She snarled out but stopped and decided to take in a deep breath before exploding out loudly. " What exactly did you do to my eyes yesterday?!" she screamed. " I had to undergo seven different eyes checks and nine hours of blindness before the fourth division could find out what exactly was affecting my eyes and made the swelling do down! And that stunt made me miss an _entire day_ off from paperwork and missions and waste my time sitting on my bum doing absolutely NOTHING!"

She stopped and returned to glaring furiously at the boy. Naruto looked shocked for a moment at that large reaction before finally breaking the icy silence. " Well, if you look on the bright side, you missed and entire day off from paperwork. You don't like paperwork, do you?"

Soifon glared harder in response- if that was even possible-, her eyes flashing dangerously. Naruto spotted it but only shrugged in response continued giving her a stupid and sheepish smile. " What did you do to me? Give me the antidote now."

" The fourth division haven't had it figured out yet?" Naruto asked, surprised. Soifon didn't respond, but the slight narrowing of eyes told him just as much. Naruto's grin broadened. " It's really simple. The powder I used was called the Ramen soup powder, filled with miso, soy sauce and salt, the basic ingredients used for creating ramen soup, created by me, the great Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto said, puffing his chest out proudly.

" Don't kid with me!" Soifon yelled. " This doesn't make any sense! As far as I know, Ramen does not make any rapid skin swelling!"

Naruto blinked. " Okay, maybe I added some katsuobushi and crushed shiitake, but who cares? I just used the basic ingredients for a shio soup." Seeing Soifon's unbelieving face of having mushrooms and tuna splattered over her face, Naruto added hastily. " The swelling was probably caused by the salt. Or maybe you have and allergy to tunas or mushroom spores."

" …So how do I stop it?" Soifon gritted out. " And why the hell did you do that?"

" You were choking me." Naruto accused, half whining. He grinned harder, seeing his captain's murderous face. Hmmm…his captain must be getting desperate. " Okay, so why do you care so much if I add on to the puffiness of your eyes? It was going to get puffy sooner or later, seeing how you go on and on about your paperwork for twenty-four hours without stopping."

" So for the cure, doctor Uzumaki recommends more sleep, and a low-carb diet." He said that in a singsong voice and waggled his fingers at her. " So no more rice and bread for taichou!" Soifon really felt like punching him straight in the face and wipe of his irritating smile once and for all there and then, but held back. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and abruptly turned and walked off the opposite way.

Naruto stood up and trailed after her, wanting some fun. He walked behind her as all lower rankings were supposed to be doing, but with every five steps, he purposely trod on her captains haori, making her stumble a bit or just slowing her down. After several minutes or walking through this long, boring corridor with her haori getting stepped on every few seconds and having an annoying subordinate trailing after her like an obedient dog, she decided to speed up her steps.

That didn't work as that only made her haori yanked back harder as Naruto stepped on it even more. She blatantly ignored the bout of snickers behind her. Soon, she found herself walking super fast through the winding corridors, almost close to running, but not quite. Taichous do not run. She wished she could shunpo away, but she was not going to waste her energy on a twit like him.

Finally, she stopped and glared at him, the area around her crackling with her reiatsu as a thousand and one ideas on how to murder him flashed through her mind.

" Oh! Sumimasen taichou, are you all right? You seemed like you had a sprained ankle or something, you were stumbling quite a lot." Naruto stared back at her with a supremely guiltless expression on his face. Soifon found herself flexing her arm muscle and cracking her knuckles.

Reminding herself not to bash him up, she managed to force out through gritted teeth. " I'm…fine. You are excused. Please leave." Naruto didn't even blink but still stood in the same position, staring at her blankly. That irked Soifon a bit. "You understand me right? Hurry up and get lost. I'm busy. And your quarters are on the left anyway, so scram." She snapped rudely at him. Now trying to feign stupidity?

Slowly, Naruto's face cleared up and he smiled at her again. _'Trying to get rid of me eh?'_" Ahh, thanks for worrying over me taichou, but I'm heading to the training field. It's in the same direction which you're heading to."

" Okay…" Soifon looked skeptically at him for a moment before huffing and walking away from this brat. Finally, she could not take it anymore and shunpo-ed away hastily.

Naruto glanced at his taichou's retreating figure and burst out laughing at her behavior, clutching his sides painfully. Still chuckling and wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes, he glanced at the second division's clock tower that stood out in the center of the entire division. It was seven thirty in the morning.

Naruto's smile was wiped off in an instant. Crap, he was half an hour late because he was 'bullying' the captain. Oh dear, blubber is going to hit him hard.

Cursing, he shunpo-ed rapidly to where the training field was. Goddammit, he was so _not _going to turn into Kakashi.

* * *

" Eh? PROMOTED? ME?" Naruto burst out, his voice ringing throughout the office. He couldn't believe his ears. It had only been seven months since he came here. And since age doesn't matter here, seven months is very short. Really very short. He looked at Soifon disbelievingly. " Are you sure?"

" Yes, you nincompoop now shut up before I void the promotion document." She snarled, rubbing her eyes. Naruto had the decency to blush and cover his mouth up. Soifon forced out a strained looking smile as she re-read the documents out loud. " Uzumaki Naruto, you are now promoted to the second divisions' higher ranking levels…by a bit only, so don't get to conceited, brat!" She snapped at Naruto halfway upon seeing the smile on his face. " Wipe that smug smile off your face, it's too early to get stuck-up now."

Naruto lowered his head, trying to hide his growing beam on his face. He hurriedly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand when the smile refused to slip. _' I can't believe she's actually listening to the general's words…' _He let out a snicker but managed to change it into a snort, making a very weird noise come out of his throat. Soifon looked at Naruto oddly. " Oei. Are you…still sane?"

Naruto nodded vigorously, trying to suppress his laughter. His captain was a great joke. " Hai! Gomen taichou, but I feel…strangely amused at this current situation. It's just…too…hilarious…" He snorted out and finally burst out laughing on the floor, unable to control his laughter anymore. The seated Shinigami present and their captain all turned and looked at him strangely. Never has anyone this hyper and crazy entered his or her squad in a decades. " It's just that…hahahaha…. you guys willingly promoted me in such a short span of time. I trained my entire life and ….oh, at this rate, I'll be chicken feet to become a captain!!"

" Had enough of laughing? Good." Soifon interrupted his fit on the floor, clearly not amused. " Now go do your efficiency test." Naruto stopped and looked at her, baffled. Soifon smirked. " You don't think I'll promote you without testing you, did I? Tough luck, Uzumaki." She tossed a scroll at him. Naruto snorted at his oh so predictable captain and opened the scroll to read the mission details.

" '_Scout area 225 and eliminate the five hollows there in no more than four hours._'" He read out loud, doubtfully.

Soifon nodded. " I take it you have no problems with the tasks? Good. We will open the gate to area 225 shortly. You have ten minutes to prepare."

Naruto nodded pocketed the scroll after rolling it back. " Where exactly is area 225 anyway?"

" It's in the real world. The rules into getting there is simple. We will open the sekai gate and dispatch a hell butterfly- that's a black one with a pink stripe-and you will stick with it and follow it until you reach the other side of the gate. That area you come out of will be area 225. Elimate the five hollows over there. Use this to help you- it's a hollow detector and communicator too." The stick-like man who's the third seater said, tossing Naruto a sleek cell phone. Naruto only rembered seeing one when he was in Anbu; Tsunade had ordered one, thinking that it would be better for communication, since it had a longer range than radios. But it vibrated and rang too loud, scaring the crap out of shinobis when they were in a middle of a battle and it was too large, bulky and inconvenient that the Godaime robed off the plan, saying that it was a waste of money.

Naruto inspected it curiously before sliping it into his back pocket, along with his scrolls. The absence of his kunai holster and pouch made it somewhat uncomfortable. As was the light, baggy loose-fitting clothes he was wearing now. He wanted his heavy armored shinobi-wear. It felt stupid to go into battle with only a measly tachi.

Naruto adjusted his sword, waiting for another five minutes to fly past but stopped halfway and looked at Soifon, who was back to her paperwork, brush flashing madly. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. " Err…I know this might sound awkward but, what the hell is a hollow? An empty mushroom or something?"

Soifon looked up and let out a groan, slapping her face exasperatedly. She _knew_ it was too good to be true. She just _knew_.

* * *

After several screaming from the seated officers and a few jumbled words on how a hollow looked like and how to dispatch one ('Slice the mask! Slice the mask!') and what a hollow can do, Naruto found himself tossed into the sekai gate by panicked and worried-stricken Shinigami, after they realized that they had just sent a newbie to elimate hollows. The last he was before the bright light engulfed him was Soifon calmly slipping her Gyokuro, completely ingnoring him. Damn her.

Naruto turned around by only saw white light. The dimensional portal only had white light. Nothing more- no smell, noise and even no solid surface, making him wonder how he was even standing in the first place.

Spotting his butterfly flapping into the space on his right, Naruto hastened to follow it, knowing that he would be fully lost and trapped in the space if he didn't. After two or three minutes of running (boy, that butterfly was fast), Naruto suddenly found himself basked in strong sunlight, ground was back on his feet again.

He was back on earth. Exactly where he was, he didn't know nor care- he was back on earth. Where his precious people was here. He hadn't seen them for more than a year already. Snapping out of it and reminding himself that he was on a mission and that he was being closely observed by Seireitei somewhere, Naruto blanked his face so that no one would know his thoughts or feeling right now. In all actuality, he wanted to scream for joy on being back on his wonderful planet.

But he had a mission to complete. So looking around, he saw that he was in a middle of a forest clearing with very delicate spindly and springy trees, very unlike the ones in Konoha, which had thick and heavy trunks and branches. That just goes to show him how far he was from his country. Ah well.

His eyes narrowed as a figure suddenly appeared into the clearing beside him. It had a dull, dirty green colored body, which somewhat resembled a human, except that its hands and feet looked particularly swollen and that it had a hole through its chest. And that it was way, way, way bigger than any human he had ever seen, roughly about the size of Gamma. A bone like mask covered its face completely. Naruto recognized this thing as a hollow, from what the Shinigami were shouting into his ear ten minutes ago.

Almost immediately, a ripping hole appeared from the sky and another similar monster stepped out, but this time it had grayish blue skin and it's arms were so huge, the monster had to drag it along with him. This one resembled a twisted looking bald gorilla. Gross.

The two clumsy bozos roared loudly, having found a prey in which they could munch on. No matter how tiny he is compared to them. Naruto grinned and unsheathed his sword, getting into a defensive stance.

Oh goodie, he was so going to have a very fun time with them.

**

* * *

**

Vocabulary:

Usuratonkachi- clumsy idiot.

Baa-chan- Granny

Miso- A Japanese food. Don't ask what.

Ohayo- Good morning

Katsuobushi- Skipjack tuna

Shiitake- a type of mushroom(Goodness, why do you even want to know this?)

Sumimasen- Escuse me

Shio- salt

Gyokuro- A high class japanese green tea ( Pampered Soifon deserves the best, ne?)

**

* * *

**

Author's notes

: Thanks for reading this, and I hoped Naruto is more like well, Naruto. I usually try to follow the character's personality, and well...an emo Naruto dosen't sound right. And I'm starting to follow a plot now...so...forgive my radom Naruto and Soifon scene. Just wanted to show some Naruto and his captain interaction, you know?

And another thing: I found out that I have made a mistake- Renji is now a third-seater, not a vice-captain. He beacame a vice-captain _after_ Rukia left. Small mistake, my bad. And the sad thing is, Toushiro might make lesser appearences from now onwards, kay? (Since he's not really the main character and all...)

So, many thanks to DarkRavie, Ding Dong Ding, WhatDoYoumeanI'mDrunk, Mock Blade, The Chronic Masturbater, The sillver Blossom, Froggy-slice, Blood Zephyr, invisible-gurl, PennyArcadeFan2, chm01, NaruXHina-Rules, lambtastic, sniper757, shankstar89, jffy48734 and Poet Bucky for reviewing.

Yup, hoped you loved blubber and wait for my next update!


	11. Tensed Up

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor Bleach.

Enjoy:

**Chapter 11- ****時制 ****(jisei) Tense up**

* * *

" I'm going to kill her, shred her from limb to limb and then kill her again!" Naruto muttered foully to himself as he hauled his heavy, muddy, weary and bruised body back to his room. He hastily showered and changed into a new set of Shinigami uniform and headed to the cafeteria, still muttering on and on about his evil thoughts on ways to kill his captain.

Apparently for the poor shinobi, Naruto's first extermination mission did not turn out as well as he would have expected it to. He had flunked the entire thing, and the entire second division was not happy. _Why do I even care whether those dingbats are happy or not?_ Naruto thought sourly, as he slurped up his ramen. _It's not my fault I flunked. And I didn't promise them anything…. _

Yes, he did not. But they were, more or less, disappointed. In Soifon's case, it was glee. 'The Uzumaki had finally failed something! I knew it! He was human after all!' That was what most of them were probably saying, Naruto guessed. Stupid idiots, he _is_ a human. He wasn't infallible. He wasn't god.

Still muttering under his breath, he stood up and headed back to his quarters, but halfway there, a Shinigami suddenly shunpo-ed before him, bowing down low.

" Uzumaki-san, the taicho has summoned you to the meeting room. You are to go there immediately." After saying so, he shunpo-ed away.

Naruto sighed at his horrible fate. Life was even worse here than it was in Konoha. Sulkily, he changed the direction he was heading to and walked towards the east corridor. Something tells him that his captain will really enjoy this little meeting.

* * *

" You failed, Uzumaki." Soifon said to the boy who was half-heartedly bowing in front of her. Her seated officers at the side of the large room shifted a little, and Naruto bristled, but remained silent. Soifon liked that silence from him. Finally, what was supposed to be the 'trump card' of Seireitei _failed_. She can finally prove to Sōtaichō that there was nothing special about that boy at all. " Why? Four hours was more than enough time to take down five simple hollows."

Naruto immediately opened his mouth to reply, but Soifon cut him off. " Because of the incompletion of this mission, and one so simple as that, I will forfeit your pay for this, and the next two missions you'll be taking. Is that clear?"

Obviously, that did not bode well for Naruto. " What? So you're telling me that I went through all that slime and mud for nothing and on top of that, I'll have to do charity work? Do I look charitable to you?"

Soifon narrowed her eyes. " You're not satisfied then? Note that you have exceeded your time limit by an hour, you know."

" Hell, of course I'm NOT!" Naruto cried. " For your information, I defeated those stupid hollows in less than half an hour! The rest of the time was spent trying to get back to this bloody plane!"

" Oh?" Soifon asked, one eyebrow raised in skepticism. " It's just a swampy forest there, you can't get lost."

" I aren't lost," Naruto rolled his eyes. " I just can't find my way back. You're the ones who panicked and threw me down the hole shouting 'slice the mask' like sissy idiots, and nothing about coming back here. How am I supposed to know that all you have to do is stick your sword into the air?"

" You could've called." Soifon said, looking unsurprised by his story. She knew about that- she was monitoring him from above while he was down there doing the mission. But he still failed anyways, and that's the only thing that counts. " We gave you a cell phone to use."

At the side, the seated Shinigami nodded and muttered to themselves at Soifon's point. " You think I don't know that?" Naruto cried angrily. Who do they think he was, a bumbling idiot with no common sense? He only had two things in his arsenal- his sword and the measly phone. It would be stupid of him not to notice that. At least he didn't take it out and throw it at the hollows as a replacement for his shuriken. Almost, but he managed to stop himself before that could happen. " Your 'phone' here just doesn't work right! See?"

And to the surprise and shock of all the present Shinigami in the room, Naruto withdrew from the folds of his robes a hunk of badly bruised metal, with springs and gears protruding out of it. On a closer inspection, it can be discerned as the cell phone the third seater gave him before, who was now ogling in horror at the messy junk the sleek phone has now become. Utterly impossible. " What on earth did you do to it?" He cried. That phone was his _favourite_…

" Nothing! I tried _everything_, but I still couldn't start it up!" Naruto said, angrily shaking the phone. That evil thing had really made him very frustrated during the mission. " It's totally useless!" With all the hard shaking, one of the springs from the 'what used to be' cell phone rocketed off, hit the twelfth seater between the eyes, dropped, and rolled across the room, slowing down in front of Naruto. Wide eyed, he hastily snatched it off the polished floor and stuffed it back into the chunk of metal it originally belonged to.

" You're the stupid one, not the phone." Soifon snapped irritably at him as the moans of her poor twelfth seater could be heard in the background. " But you still failed, at that's what matters. So my punishment still stands."

" Erm, taicho…? If I may…" The timid twentieth seater spoke up softly. Soifon directed her gaze on he girl instead, somewhat surprised that someone actually wanted to side with the boy.

" What is it, Yumiko?"

" Err…Uzumaki-san did complete half of the mission, and since he eliminated the hollows and put the danger away from the residents of that area…so maybe you could lessen the punishment a bit…?"

Glad that he had finally gotten some support, although from an unknown source, Naruto nodded vigorously. " Yeah, yeah!"

Soifon chose to ignore the blond, replying to the girl named Yumiko instead. " You're still to soft, Yumiko." She said curtly. Yumiko lowered her gaze and nodded slightly, abashed, and Naruto was looking shocked and extremely angry with Soifon. He had finally found a supporter! A measly one, but still… Again, she ignored him. " So what if he defeated the hollows? Punctuality is important too, isn't that what I always emphasize on? What if he is needed here in Seireitei? If he takes too long to arrive when called, we might as well be considered dead then. This is a not only a mission- it is to test if he is capable of becoming a seated officer or not. And I daresay that he has failed terribly and hence, is not worthy of that position."

Silence fell following her words. Soifon swept her gaze around the room. " No more objections? Then this meeting is over." Saying so, she took the mission files and walked briskly out of the room, for once, eager to meet up with the general and report her observations.

Naruto regained his sense of speech a few moments later. " You old _kuso-baba_! I risked my life and limb completing this mission and this is what I get?" He yelled at the empty doorframe. "I hope that those droopy black eye bags I gave you stay there for life!" He knew Soifon had heard him- how is it possible to _not_ hear Naruto? - but she, surprisingly, ignored his impudence. He seethed at his spot silently as he waited for the higher-ups to exit the room first, before standing up and exiting himself.

' That old _kuso-baba_…just you wait…once I claim the seat of captain, I'll really, really, get my revenge on you…' Naruto thought foully as he angrily stomped out, sounding like an oversized elephant on a rampage.

Once out however, he was surprised to find the twentieth seater, that Yumiko girl, outside waiting for him. Upon seeing him, she gave a short bow. "Uzumaki-san." She said pleasantly, unlike the timid way she spoke in when with Soifon. " Can you- can you spare a moment of your time?"

" Why?" Naruto said cautiously, wondering what this unknown girl wanted with him, the thought of denying her was already in his mind. But then, she's his senior and it's not like he had something to do for the rest of the day.

" I would like to have a quick word with you." She said. Lowering her voice, she added quickly. " It's about Soifon taicho."

" Oh.Okay. No problem." Naruto immediately replied, and then mentally slapped himself. What on earth did his stupid silly mouth say? He'd rather head to the dojo to train, rather than sit down and have a conversation that is revolving around his Taicho. And frankly, he didn't want to have anything to do with Soifon at the moment. But since he had already agreed…. Sullenly, he followed Yumiko to the cafeteria, giving another fat slap to his idiotic mouth on the way.

* * *

Once they were settled in with a cup of hot ocha in front of them, Yumiko started telling him about what was supposedly Soifon's sad, heart wrenching and tragic story. Naruto listened with mild interest as he slipped his ocha. Apparently, no matter how she looked like, Yumiko was somewhat of a Soifon fan girl. And what could be more worse than hearing your most detested person's life story being told by her fan? Naruto decided- he and Soifon must be opposites of each other. If he is happy, then she won't be. If she is happy, then _he_ won't be. Yup, that must be it.

" She wasn't always like that, you know, Uzumaki-san." Yumiko said sadly, dropping her head. Naruto inwardly snorted, and bit back a sarcastic remark. It was rather hard to believe that Soifon used to be a dear, kindhearted woman who dished sweets and money magnanimously to the poor. The mere thought of it made Naruto choke on his ocha.

As Yumiko went on and on about how Soifon was the bodyguard and slowly, the eventual protégé of this woman named Shihōin Yoruichi, Naruto tried to cover up his coughs and hacks, as he tried his best to pay attention to Yumiko. A few funny sounding wheezes came out, but amazingly, Yumiko didn't seem to hear them as she continued her story about their taicho.

" –And then one day, Shihoin-sama suddenly abandoned her and ran off with a few others into the real world!" Yumiko was saying, her voice was definitely rising higher and louder as she carried on. Naruto sat up straighter, suddenly intrested. " So of course, with no one to wait for anymore, her entire dreams dashed without any reason or purpose, Soifon-sama was left alone and nothing to look forward to anymore. So created a new path for herself with her own power and hard work- which is what that make her what she is today."

" This Yoruichi guy…" Naruto interrupted before, catching Yumiko's attention before she could burst out into sobs and wails about her poor, poor Taicho. " Was a Shinigami too, right?"

" Yes." Yumiko said, nodding. " The previous captian of the second division." Naruto carried on.

" So didn't Seireitei punish her for escaping? Or is it because she is a captain? Can captains go to the real world as and when they please?" Naruto hurriedly asked.

" Of course not!" Yumiko cried, aghast. " Didn't you do any reading while you're in the Shinigami academy? I graduated from mine about a hundred years back, but at least I still remember that the captains must still abide by the standard Shinigami rules, if not, stricter rules- they are still Shinigamis anyway. H-How did you pass your theory test, Uzumaki-san?"

" By luck I guess." Naruto muttered, avoiding her dumfounded look. He quickly changed the topic of discussion before he accidentally aroused any suspicions. "So… basically, what you're telling me is that taicho wasn't actually this emo, and she's really very pitiful?"

" Yes." Yumiko said, nodding enthusiastically.

" So what do I have to do with all this crap? I'm not involved." Naruto said rather bluntly, looking totally clueless. " What a complete waste of time that was." Yumiko immediately slapped her face in exasperation at Naruto's idiocy.

" Don't you get it?" She cried, standing up. " Uzumaki-san, you have to wake taicho up from her senses! Tell her that we are behind her all the time! Stop clinging on to her past!"

" What?! B-B-But why me?" Naruto screamed, suddenly breaking out into cold sweat, and immediately threw out as many reasons of rejecting the task as possible. Absolutely no way was he going to do something as generous as _that_. Not for someone as wicked as _her_. " I have absolutely nothing to do with this! Nothing! And I don't have that much free time either, I have lots of training to do!" _And I hate her a lot too_, Naruto silently added, throwing a small tantrum at the back of his head.

" Uzumaki, you are a freshman. Just out of the academy a few months ago." Yumiko sighed. " Okay, a rather good one, but still, how much work does a freshman have? This is a personal request from the entire second division- including the vice captain, so _please_."

" What? From blubber too?" Naruto asked, a bit surprised. He didn't expect that. Guess everyone is desperate for a change of taicho. Soifon's strictness must be suffocating to everyone as well.

" Yes! And every seated officer!" Yumiko said, he eyes shining with hope. " So will you take it?"

" But why me?" Naruto whined. Damn, he still has to research more on opening those special portals and controlling the jigoku-cho (hell butterflies) and how to properly manage a cell phone. He didn't want to screw up his next mission. Not to mention that he still couldn't exactly find a way to open a gate to Konoha, or any other shinobi village, for that matter. They were called the _Hidden_ Villages for a reason afterall.

" Because you're the only one who dares to stand up to the taicho! We admire your courage, Uzumaki-san! We're very lucky to finally have somebody like you here in our division!" Yumiko replied without missing a beat.

Naruto could only manage to stare. So rebelling against the Taicho is a good trait now? _Soifon probably had her division members hand pick out carefully_, Naruto thought mulishly_. A pity the old General Commander had to ruin it all. One thing is for sure, the second Division is really lacking on guts._

" I- I can't…" Naruto replied weakly, running a hand through his hair nervously. " It's too big for me to handle…"

" PLEASE?" Yumiko begged. Naruto then realized how desperate everyone here is. His seniors are _begging_ him. How could he say no? Ah well, he'll just try to talk Soifon over it- who knows what might happen to him next? After all, she can't expel him from the ranks, right? Seireitei _needed _him, right? Naruto was really testing his luck.

" I'll try." Naruto finally sighed. Upon seeing Yumiko's delighted face, however, Naruto hastily added. " No promises, and no time limit, okay?"

" That's just fine. Thanks a lot." Yumiko said, looking relieved. She stood up to leave, paying for both cups of ocha as she did so." Well, I have a few paperwork to attend to- I'll go first, I think?"

Naruto stood up and bowed as she exited the cafeteria- this was a common form of 'graciousness' in the second division. Courtesy of Soifon. " Remind me again how I always end up with all these dirty work." He muttered foully to himself. Life. Isn't. Fair. Naruto felt like bashing his head into a wall to vent his frustrations out.

* * *

" Is he ready yet, Soifon?" Yamamoto asked. From what the king had told him, it seems that Seireitei might be have a few rough problems in the next few years ahead. The defense systems have to be ready, but yet…

" If it's about his fighting capability, then I think it shouldn't be a problem. That boy learns at an exceedingly fast pace. Give one or two years and he might already be at captain level." Soifon replied. Everyone looked around, impressed by this piece of information. Yamamoto pounded on that. Will they be able to make it in time?

" Is there anyway to speed this up?" He asked the current 'supervisor' of their newest 'weapon'.

" Probably. We could try." Soifon said. " But in my division, we do not start Shikai training unless a shinigami discovers it by him or herself, which they could only earn by experience, or if they achieve the rank of a seated officer. Currently, Uzumaki has failed the most recent efficiency test I gave him. I believe Mayuri had let you see the video."

" Yes. And I must say he did excellently on his first practical, considering he had never actually seen, or know what a hollow is before." Jyuushiro spoke up before Soifon could get a bad word in about the poor boy.

" But he returned late-" Soifon began, but was interrupted yet again.

" I must agree too, he dispatched them rather easily too. I think you're being a tad too strict, Soifon-taicho." Shunsui good naturally said.

Soifon glared at the two of them. " Whose side are you on, mine or his?" She snapped. " I am only explaining it on what I saw and think. And I must say, although he might be a good fighter, his self-control over both his brain and mouth is extremely lacking. How do you expect one such as _that _to be an obedient weapon?"

" Bah. Who needs control while fighting? There are no rules in a death match anyway- you just have to slice, chop and hack anything that moves in you direction. That's what I do." The ever so bloodthirsty Kenpatchi said, grinning.

" ' Anything that moves in your direction'? Then what about your subordinates?" Gin asked.

" Well, I already warned them before the start of the battle- don't blame me." Kenpatchi replied coolly, giving a slight shrug.

" …Is that why the eleventh division are always in need of new members?" Gin said, twitching. Kuso…with so many picky captains around like Kenpatchi, Byakuya, Soifon, Retsu and even Aizen around, it's no wonder how the third squad always end up with shitty members. Well... its not that he minded much, but they're so pathetic, up to the extend that they couldn't even help out with the paperwork!

" Of course. Those sissy idiots you gave me can't even handle a few slices, they don't deserved to be called men." Kenpatchi said.

" How empathetic you are." Soifon said sarcastically. " And you still have the guts to say _me_ after what you do to _your_ subordinates. And you're forgetting that obeying and delivering orders are extremely essential for being a weapon."

" His memory has been removed, right?" Yamamoto said, diverting all captains' attention back on him.

Realizing that he was addressing her, Soifon nodded." It seems that way. But don't worry Yamamoto-taicho. If you're looking for strong, obedient and loyal people, I have plenty of those in my squad- there's this guy called Norio-"

" Has this turn into an 'advertise you squad' competition?" Kenpatchi whispered to Isshin, who only shrugged in response.

" Enough of that- I already told you- we need a shinobi. So what exactly is taking so long?" Yamamoto boomed. Soifon kept quiet, obviously not able to answer his question. After a while, the smartest of all the captains decided to speak up.

" It might be because of his inborn personality." Mayuri said, frowning. " No barrier will be able to take away all his stupidity and stubbornness. Or other than that, he might have something that constantly reminds him of his past- which is impossible, because he had lost everything when his soul was dragged here by our spirit directors."

" We will just keep at it this way. Increase the training difficulty a little, I think he'll be able to cope." Yamamoto finally said, a dozen different training methods flashing through his mind. Soifon's way was probably still the best option for now. Too tough a training and they might accidentally break him or worse, make him loathe them.

" Understood." Soifon said. " I will try to send him on more practicals from now onwards then."

Yamamoto nodded. " I await greater news from you on our next meeting. Dismissed."

* * *

After the meeting, a few captains had their own 'little' meeting by themselves too.

" Is he a significant nuisance now?" Gin asked.

" Nonsense. Nuisances aren't significant." Aizen said. " Just by having one more hurdle that stands in my way will not stop me from reaching the goal."

" So we shall turn a blind eye on the boy?" Tosen said. " I suggest we'd better take extra precautions- he's progress are speeding up at an almost alarming rate."

" Are you scared, Tosen?" Aizen asked mildly, turning to face both Gin and Tosen.

" N-no, not really." The blind man said. " I'm sure we can take him down easily, as he is now."

" 'As he is now', huh?" Aizen pondered. " But you're right, I find this particular nuisance a little bit… annoying. We shall wait and observe for a while longer. Finding the Hōgyoku takes first pirority. Oh, and also reasearch more on the thing we discussed…"

" Of course."

* * *

_The next day_

" Ah, ano…taicho…? I was wondering…" Naruto gave his cheesiest grin as he tried to get his captain's attention. Soifon didn't even spared a glance for him as she walked briskly to her office.

" If you're thinking of bargaining for your pay, then you can forget it." Soifon said curtly.

" No, not that…but err…that was what I was sort of thinking off…" Naruto laughed nervously as he tried to find a way to phrase his sentence properly. While doing so, he realized that Soifon was already a few feet away from him. He ran up to keep up with her fast pace. " Geez, slow down taicho, you walk too fast."

" I won't let you skip your morning warm ups either." Soifon said, rolling her eyes, still going on with that ridiculous pace of hers. " Scram- I won't give you extra breakfast time for talking to me, so don't complain afterwards."

" No- it's not that-" Naruto spluttered on his words, tongue-tied.

Soifon looked at him weirdly. " Uzumaki, are you sure you're feeling well today?"

" Yes, I'm fine." Naruto said, slightly panting with Soifon's speed already. " But I- err…well…" This time, however, the bell interrupted him. Naruto looked stricken. He hadn't had his breakfast yet!

" There goes your bell." Soifon smirked. She had finally stopped to lavish the look on Naruto's face. Naruto glared hard at her for that sentence, but clamped his mouth shut. _She's your captain, she's your captain, she's your captain…you need a favor, you need a favor, you need a favor, don't start a fight, don's start a fight, don't start a fight…control your temper, control your temper, control your temper…_.

" Oh, and come to my office after your warm ups. I have a few missions ready for you. And since two are for free…" Widening her grin, Soifon shunpo-ed off to her office.

Staring at the empty corridor, Naruto sighed. " …I can't do it…I can't say it…she's make my life even more horrendous if I ever remind her…" Letting out yet another sigh, Naruto shunpo-ed off to the cafeteria. Hopefully, he could grab a bite to eat before blubber catches up with him.

* * *

" What's wrong, Isshin? You've been pretty quiet lately." Shunsui asked the tenth division captain as he slipped his tea. " It's the start of a new day! Liven up a little!"

" Ah…well, I've been thinking…is it really alright to live the boy alone like this?" Isshin said. " If you keep training him and whipping him, he might really turn into what the captain commander wants, you know."

" It can't be helped." Jyuushiro sighed, putting down his cup of tea. " Kyoraku and I already tried talking sensei over it, but he won't listen to us at all. But I suppose he do have his reasons though…something like we're going to be invaded soon…"

" _Please_, us? Soul Society? Invaded? It won't happen in a bullion years! That old man's just cracking up!" Isshin chuckled. Come on, there are the famous 'impenetrable' force fields covering Seiteitei, thirteen full teams of Shinigami, and at least a third of them with Shikai. And with the combined forces of all thirteen captains, no invaders will stand a chance against them!

" I don't know. To create such a strong reaction with Yamamoto jii-san…they might be strong…maybe they're super powerful menos?" Kyoraku said.

" …Kyoraku, you're supposed to be the smart one here. How on earth can menos enter Soul Society in the first place?" Jyuushiro sighed at his friend.

" Like I said, they're super strong and powerful." Kyoraku shrugged. " Maybe there's going to be a rebellion, or an imposter, or even maybe even a back stabber!"

" You're so dramatic." Isshin sighed as he refilled his cup with more tea. " It won't happen, I'll tell you now."

Jyuushiro cleared his throat. " So what do you suggest you do now? We can't find a replacement for the boy, right? We'll only be dragging more people into this mess then."

" Don't worry too much about it, Jyuushiro. That guy's tough- he's a ninja, right? A few more training won't hurt him that much…" Shunsui said lazily, petting Jyuushiro on the back. He turned to the last person in the room. " Oh, and by the way Byakuya-kun, doesn't your house have any sake?"

Kuchiki Byakuya, who was silent for the entire duration of the conversation, twitched his eye in annoyance and anger. " No."

" Aww, come on, don't be so stingy Byakuya-kun. Or don't tell me the oh so noble house of Kuchiki only has tea leaves…?" Shunsui whined. Byakuya did not bother to reply.

" Urm…so what is you intake on this, Byakuya?" Jyuushiro kindly asked. " On the boy, I mean."

" If that is the will of the General Commander, then I have no misgivings on it." The sixth division's captain replied monotonously, as he slipped his tea. " I have no opinion for this matter. Once you're done with this useless chatter, might I ask you to leave this house immediately-"

" Byakuya-chaaaaan, don't be such a kill joy, you should just relax and smile once in a while." Shunsui said. " You seriously don't have any sake in the house?"

Byakuya turned his head slowly and almost mechanically to Shunsui. It was obvious to all of them that he had reached his boiling point then. " First, you come barging in uninvited into my house and acting as though it is yours…next, you made yourself comfortable, brewing tea for yourselves and even worse, _insisted_ that I join in on your silly mundane conversation…and now, you want to exhaust my expensive collection of sake supply…?" He managed to force out through clenched teeth.

" Erm…now, now, don't get too mad Byakuya-chan…" Isshin said nervously as the three other taicho backed away from the hysterical Byakuya.

" If it wasn't for my hospitality and the fact that you are my fellow captains, an audacity such as this is _unforgivable_!" Byakuya carried on. " And though you and I are of the same rank, you seem to be forgetting that the master and head of the noble house of Kuchiki is I. So you will address me either as Kuchiki-sama or Kuchiki-taicho while you are in here, understand?"

" Hai!" Jyuushiro, Shunsui and Isshin squeaked. They were saved as the door slid open. Byakuya at once, somehow managed to regain his usual emotionless demeanor as everyone turned to look at their 'life-saver'

" Byakuya-nii-sama?" Rukia called, poking her head into the room. Upon seeing the little gathering of captains there however, she immediately turned bright red and bowed lowly. " Ukitake-taicho, Kyoraku-taicho, Kurosaki-taicho! I'm so sorry- I didn't knew you were here- forgive my imprudence…"

" It doesn't matter." Byakuya said coolly, though throwing an angry glare at the other three in _his_ room. " They came here, rudely uninvited, unwanted and caused a great disturbance to everyone. You do not have to treat them with this much level of respect. You have something to tell me, Rukia?"

" H-hai, there's something I would like to show you…" Rukia stammered.

" Very well." Byakuya stood up and walked towards the door. He turned to glance at the other captains in the room, narrowing his eyes dangerously. " Since you came here unasked for, I'm sure you can make your way out fairly well by yourselves too. I see no reason why I will have to see you off." The door slid shut as both the Kuchiki brother and sister pair made their way towards the houses' kido training yard.

"…The famed noble house of Kuchiki sure is scary, eh?" Isshin gave a shaky chuckle as he wiped off his cold sweat with a handkerchief. " N-No surprises though, with Byakuya in charge of it all…"

" S-Scary?" Shunsui yelped. " It's terrifying! L-Let's just get the hell out of here. W-We'll discuss about the boy another time- in another location. I think the boy probably should be able to survive one or two weeks more under Soifon."

Saying so, all three hastily shunpo-ed back to their own division as soon as possible. They were lucky Naruto never really heard the conversation- he'd definitely strangle them because of the 'able to handle one or two weeks' part.

* * *

" Uzumaki Naruto." Soifon called.

" Hai." Naruto immediately answered, standing at attention, like every oher Shinigami in the Second Division was supposed to do. Soifon nodded- finally, Naruto was showing the proper conduct.

" Because of your recent failure in the last mission, the we, second division, have decided to give you more training from now onwards. Hence, you will be given more practicals to do, and when the time comes, we will issue another efficiency test. Understand?" Soifon said.

" Hai." Naruto said. _'How much worser can my life get?'_

" As you can remember, this mission, along with the next, will be done and completed perfectly without pay. But for this time round, we will issue a guide for you. Hideko." Soifon said.

Upon being called, the person, Hideko, had immediately shunpo-ed in between Soifon and Naruto, bowing low on one knee in front of Soifon. " Hai." Naruto realized that this girl was from one of Soifon's Special Forces group- the uniform clearly showed it.

" Hideko here will assist you on your next mission, to prevent you from doing anything stupid again." Soifon said. " However, she will only guide you if you made a blunder, or do something wrongly, and she will not take an active role in helping fight hollows. Understand?"

" Hai," Naruto mumbled. Obviously, that Hideko girl was yet another form of Soifon's supervision. Was he really that dishonest? Stupid question. Naruto realized that he probably was. He also realized that with Hideko around monitoring him, he couldn't do whatever he pleased during the missions he was assigned to anymore. The horror…!

" Your next mission will be similar to the last, so this time, I expect it to be done properly." Soifon said, tossing Naruto a scroll, which he niftily caught. It was very similar to the last. ' _Scout area 750 and eliminate the three hollows there in no more than two hours.'_ " Everything okay?" Naruto nodded. Three hollows…that should be easy…Both Hideko and him stood up to head to the entrance gate to depart.

" Wait." Soifon said suddenly. She tossed Naruto another object- that he also caught quizzically. He realized that it was another cell phone; similar to the one he just broke. " You have better not trashed that. Phones aren't that cheap, you know." Soifon said irritably. " You may leave now." Bowing, both of them exited the room.

Soifon sighed and went back to her paperwork. Sensing her lieutenant's discomfort, she spoke up once again, though her head was still imerssed with the documents. " What is it, Ōmaeda?"

The fat man gave a jolt of surprise, was he really that easy to read? " Erm, that I am doubting your orders, taicho, but that Uzumaki…are you sure he can handle this mission? Isn't it a bit too soon to be sending him out on these missions?"

Surprise, Omaeda was actually worried for someone. " Not to worry, Omaeda. That guy has very thick skull and skin- he'll defeat hollows easily. You watched his performance during training, right?"

" Yes, and that's exactly why I think you're pushing him too hard, taicho." Marechiyo said bluntly, picking his nose once again. " He's always too clumsy, and he's often slacking off."

" Really? He's always like that." Soifon said, scribbling away furiously. " But he's extremly lucky too, always managing to get out of thick situations."

" Yeah, but Uzumaki really has no motivation at all. During training, he's always complaining away as he does his laps and push-ups, and sit-ups, and pull-ups, and even during kendo practice. A very big and loud mouth he has. Not to mention that he has no strength to back his words up. Tweedy and feeble boy. Bad muscles, if you ask me."

" Looks who's talking." Soifon snapped, but all the same, she pounded over what her lieutenant just told her. Uzumaki Naruto…no power? That was almost impossible. Has Mayuri got his information mixed up? No, that was impossible too. She idly wondered what Naruto was thinking during training. Well, he'll have a earful from her later. Slacking off during training, huh?

* * *

Naruto sneezed as he was walking towards the gate. He turned to glare at the perfectly stony faced Hideko, who was trailing behind him. _' I don't know why you hate me, but I don't like you either. So stop being such a stuck-up idiot, idiot.'_ Naruto didn't really like to idea of having an assister. He was too used to having solo missions by himself, thank you. Sure, having a companion would be nice, but no someone as freaky as this…? It reminded him a lot on those ANBU that followed Ibiki around. Scary. You could never know what exactly was going through their minds.

Naruto sighed as he reached the large intimidating gates and handed his mission scroll to the Shinigami who was on duty. While the latter was preparing to open, Naruto was setting up his hell butterfly, throwing furtive, irksome glances at Hideko, who had long had her butterfly ready. Since when did she even create it…?

Poor Hideko didn't even know why exactly was Naruto glaring at her for.

* * *

**Author's notes**: Thank you for your patience. I know, it took a while to update this; I didn't really have any time or motivation to type it down…and maybe a slight author's block too. So this chapter is finally down after much difficulty, and is probably a pretty much useless one too. Just full of insignificant drabbles…

But 200 reviews! Thanks a lot, to all who reviewed for the last chapter, namely:DarkRavie, Ding Dong Ding, WhatDoYouMeanI'mDrunk, Mock Blade, greivergf, The Chonic Masturbater, Kitsumi-Hime, Froggy-slice, Blood Zephyr, invisible-gurl, chm01, NaruXHina-Rules, lambtastic, sniper 757, shankstar89, jffry48734, Poet Bucky, animekingmike, xXchaos-angel7Xx, nim istar, Holy Knight5, Blue Bragon, PennyArcadeFan2, OnimeKyo-Kyuubi, LITTLE ALEXANDER UZUMAKI, and Shadow65.

Hope you look forward to the next chapter! I promise I'll update faster.


	12. The Battle Begins

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Bleach.

**Enjoy:**

**Chapter 12- 戦いは始まる ( tatakai ha hajimeru) The battle begins**

* * *

" Heeeey!" Naruto called as swung his sword in a wide arc, splattering more black hollow blood on himself. " I need a little help here!" He glanced behind only to see an observing Hideko from one of the tree branches behind him, face blanked, the only thing which were moving were her eyes, which were dutifully marking his every move, every slash, every stance. Probably going to report to her taichou as soon as they returned, that goody-goody girl.

' _Fine, I don't need your help; I'll do this myself,'_ Naruto sniffed. It was easier said than done, since this hollow was significantly a notch higher than the other seven he had fought before. Apparently, this beast had the ability to regenerate itself almost instantly, making it as good as new in two seconds flat. It was an awesome ability and fascinating to watch, but not when you're trying to 'purify' it.

Naruto repositioned his grip on his tachi, like the way he used to with his ninjato before, and charged forwards again, aiming for the bone-like mask. Seemingly, the hollow had figured out where he was intention was, and immediately raised its large hands to block, which was of course, sliced cleanly into half by Naruto's zanpakuto. Naruto, not expecting this sort of retention from it, halted briefly in his charge. The hollow grinned, and taking his chance, swung his other large and heavy arm, and Naruto, who couldn't swing his long tachi up to block in time, was sent flying a good fifteen meters before crashing painfully into a tree, breaking its trunk on the heavy impact.

" Damn it!" He cried, standing up immediately as though the landing did not hurt at all and readied his sword again as he eyed the hollow, thinking of another way to get to the mask. He prepared for another charge.

Hideko raised her eyebrow. By right, he should at least be showing signs of strains and fatigue by now- he had been fighting this hollow non-stop for ten minutes, and had polished off another not too long before that. If the reports on him during training were right, he should by all rights be wheezing, collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, too tired to even twitch a muscle. Was the vice captain wrong in his observation…?

Evidently, while Naruto was flying through the trees a few moments back, the hollow had somehow reattached his severed limb back. Naruto was currently charging his fifteenth charge at the hollow, looking as though he was just charging and charging without a plan and will keep on charging until either he or the hollow died. The former looked as though he had a better chance of doing so. Hideko gave a twitch at his stupidity, but one just had to admire his ridiculous stamina.

Naruto glanced at the unmoving Hideko who was situated a few meters away from the hollow, not so near so that she would get hit by stray attack, yet not too far that she would not be able to observe the battle. Exactly like how a good ANBU would've behaved, if she were one. Wait, since Soul Society already have people who could rival the shinobis in power and disciplinary, so why do they want one still? Why him?

Naruto frowned at the sudden thought as he shunpo-ed away to confuse the hollow before appearing slightly to the left, sword flashing, managing yet another fruitless slash at the large arms before being whacked backwards a few meters, banging into another tree, again. He got up at once and exhaled deeply, once again, repositioning himself. Yosh, he ran a lot already; time to end this battle now.

Hideko watched the progress he made quietly from her branch. He didn't look like he was going to drop dead from tiredness soon. It was amusing and rather astounding that he stood up instantly and charged time and time again, but it was also getting tiring to see him being repelled time and time again too. She didn't see why the captain found him noteworthy. They were others out there better than this guy. Please, he was having problems with a hollow that wasn't even a _menos_!

Naruto sprang into action again, this time running in fast circles around the hollow, landing a hit every now and then from all directions to make it confused. His hands itched to drop this useless sword and go into the all too familiar seal for his beloved kage bunshins, which would save him all this hassle of running at high speed in circles, but he held back. Not now, not when soul society had sent a 'tracker' with him. Now was one of the times he wished he had paid closer attention to Toushiro when the boy was explaining to him about activating shikai. He really wished he had his right now.

His eyes narrowed suddenly. _'Here!'_ He slashed hard at the hollow's feet, chopping it into two at the leg, making the heavy monster fall forwards pathetically, surprised at the sudden change of tactics and also because of his lose of support. Naruto took his chance and jumped up, sword pointing down, poised to stab the mask. The monster immediately tried to shield his head with its arms like it always did before, but failed to do so in time. " Too slow!" Naruto roared, his blade crashing down hard on the mask, smashing it instantly into smithereens. The body of the huge beast instantly dissolved into black particles, which were blown off by the wind. Naruto stared at the spot the hollow had vanished just a few moments ago, panting slightly, before snapping out of it and sheathing back his sword silently.

Hideko was staring, wide eyed at the exact spot Naruto was staring at not too long ago. That boy, that _kid_, had killed off a hollow at this ranking so…quickly, so easily? If he could kill it so easily, so simply like he did in his final move, then why going through all that charging and yelling he did before…was that just to gain information on its powers? No, the first two strikes would have told him all he needed. The rest were just redundant moves. But why did he…? She narrowed his eyes as she stared down blankly at the kid, knowing what he had wanted to achieve in the first place. Then I came to her. He was feigning weakness in front of her! He obviously wanted to hide his strength from his captain. Hmp, smart plan, but not enough to outwit her. Taichou will be learning of this of course.

" What are you doing?" He snapped irritably at her. She only blinked back in response. He immediately looked away and started muttering to himself, something he was always finding himself doing a lot when in the second division. " I'm done with this bloody mission, let's head back now." He said to her grumpily, withdrawing his sword smoothly again, and after faking a look of concentration so as to appear that the task was difficult, he released a bit of reiatsu, making it travel down the blade. An old traditional door immediately appeared at the tip of the blade. Two black butterflies fluttered out of it as the door slowly opened.

The two walked through the portal, heading back to Soul Society, in silence.

* * *

" Taichou!" Naruto hollered, entering the room, with the ever-so-dignified Hideko in tow. Soifon winced at the volume and as she did so, made a large inkblot on the document she was writing. " Uzumaki Naruto has returned!" He announced brashly. Thankfully for him, Soifon was the only one in the office- blubber had gone off to train his squad.

" So soon?" she grumbled, eyes flicking to the candle. Naruto had failed the last one miserably, but completed this one in only one and half hour…? That was a _big_ improvement. Her eyes turned on him as he smiled and placed the mission report scroll on her desk, before backing away to stand in attention. They slowly traveled onto Hideko, who was in the same position as Naruto was in now, except she wasn't wearing that stupid smile like his'. It clicked.

' _Heh.'_ She smirked. " If you're finished here, then you may retire for the day. Make sure you attend your evening training. I don't want you slacking off again- I will see to it personally."

Naruto scowled sourly at her. Oh boy…more training and no slack…. He wasn't that much willing to put in so much effort into training yet. How did she find out about it anyway? After a muttered 'hai', he shunpo-ed off obediently.

" Report." Soifon barked at Hideko. She listened as Hideko dutifully did as she ordered. The new information was… interesting. Soifon pounded over it intently as she dismissed Hideko. She _will_ see his evening training today.

* * *

_~ After Dinner~_

' _Ooh, that was great,_' Naruto grinned as he patted his bulging belly and exited the cafeteria. _' Nothing beats a full sixteen bowls of ramen for dinner._' He burped loudly, totally oblivious to the scandalous looks thrown to him by a passing group of Shinigami. ' _Now, I should be heading to the dojo to train…I utterly slept through today's morning training anyway_.'

Ever since entering into the second division, Naruto had stopped participating during group exercises if he could help it. Group exercises…_pah_. He never did any in konoha after he reached chuunin rank anyway. Nobody had said that they were necessary. But all the high-ranking missions Tsunade assigned to him had made up for the lack of morning exercises.

In the past, Naruto skipped daily exercises and warm-ups, choosing to jump straight to training during his free time in the mornings, or afternoons, or even evenings. He was one of the few ninjas who would train constantly for twenty-four hours non-stop if needed. But even up till now, he still had the tendency of skipping his morning routines. Even after the many jogs and push-ups blubber had him to do, he still wouldn't kick his habit. But blubber's such a pushover, it wouldn't matter much.

To make up for the loss of exercise and strenuous missions (the ones he always had were equivalent to Konoha's D-ranks), Naruto sweated a lot in his evening trainings. Thankfully, the dojo had large private rooms for individual Shinigamis to practice their sword moves in secrecy. They were puzzled as to why Naruto, someone who didn't have a shikai yet, would want a room to himself, but on one asked. Naruto was careful to stop dispel all his jutsus before someone came in. He had to keep in shape- he wouldn't be able to face his friends afterwards.

On instances that the dojo is closed or it was closed for the day, he would head to his room to practice reiatsu control. If he still needed to exercise, he would have no choice but to do rounds around Seireitei's circular fortress. Well, today, Naruto decided, he will practice more on his futon jutsus. He had his forte techniques- Kage Bunshin and Rasengan- down already.

That thought died down when he entered the dojo.

" You're late, Uzumaki." Came a clipped voice he knew and detested all too well. The dojo was strangely quiet today. Had everyone decided to practice their hakuda today?

" T-Taichou?!" Naruto gasped. " What are you doing here?!"

A few murmurs could be heard as most division members in the vicinity gawked at Naruto's audacity. Naruto, noticing that, lowered his gaze and gave a small apologetic grin to Soifon. She ignored that in favor of carrying on her speech.

" I did tell you that I will be watching you for training today, right?" Soifon said. Naruto's mouth formed a silent 'oh'. She sighed. How _unsurprising_ of him to forget. She continued on, nonetheless. " Anyways, I will be supervising your training for today. Of course, you'll be doing most of the work; I'll be only observing."

Naruto looked confused for a second before he managed to cover it up and nodded. But inside, his mind was racing. To train under Soifon's eye…most would call it a benefit, but it was nothing of the sort for Naruto. Naruto's training consists of mostly developing and catching up with his ninja arts. He trained the way Jiraiya and Kakashi had taught him to, combined with his own added observations and moves. He was doing ninja training, and that's not something that can be shown to simply anyone, especially to a _captain_. To summarize it all up, Naruto was screwed.

Wait, Soifon was saying something…" Uzumaki! Are you listening or NOT?!" Soifon raised her voice sharply, cutting his train of thoughts.

" Hai!" He squeaked, body stiffening up. He noticed that with Soifon speaking directly and personally to him, he had attracted most of that crowd's attention. Ooh, a captain's favourite, that's exactly what he least needed at the moment.

" Well, good. Now follow me. We're going to someplace more…spacious." Soifon said, and headed to one of the large private training chambers. Naruto followed after her, trying to disregard the mutterings in the main hall of the dojo. He didn't care about what others thought of him…right?

* * *

" …so right now, you have a nameless zanpakuto, called an _Asauchi_. To get a better form, Shikai, you have to learn its _name_." Soifon was saying exasperatedly as Naruto stared back at her blankly, with a 'what' expression. She have been fruitlessly trying for the past half an hour to get Naruto to get a grip on the fundamentals of achieving Shikai. So far, no progress has been made _at all_. The boy was just too stupid.

"Don't you understand?!" Soifon snapped, patience reaching its limit. " I don't how did Hitsugaya even managed to pass you into being a Shinigami! Either he bribed Sōtaichō or he took the exam in your stead, but its plain obvious that you are a bumbling idiot that can't absorb anything!"

Naruto snapped at that. " Don't push the blame on Toushiro, _kuso-baba teme_! If I'm the stupid one here than just say so! You don't have to blame anyone else! I don't care if you're a captain or not, but that's going too far!"

That involved a glaring match between Soifon and Naruto, before they both snapped out of it and avoided each other's gazes. The air was thick with tension.

" Review." Soifon snapped.

" To get my zanpakuto 'upgraded' to Shikai, I will have to learn its name." Naruto said grouchily. Soifon blinked. What do you know…he did remember it all. The gist of it anyway.

She nodded. " Yes, and there is only one way to find out its spirits' name- to talk to it directly. To do so, you will have to _go to it_."

" Go to it…?" Naruto repeated, glancing at the sword at his side. " How?"

" Meditation." Soifon simply said.

" I don't meditate." Naruto said flatly. _I _can't_ meditate_, he added silently. _Especially not in front of anyone._ If there's one thing Naruto refused to do willingly, it was meditating in front of someone. He had never did that- even while he was...alive.

The last time he did that resulted with an accidentally unleashed four tails kyuubi state, a half destroyed forest and an almost dead Jiraiya. Naruto had then decided to never risk meditating with anyone nearby anymore. In fact, he had never meditated unless he really had to speak with that baka of a kitsune. Yes, for Naruto, meditating always meant linking with his inmate, intentionally or not. And in most meetings, Naruto usually came out of them _pissed_, never mind that meditation was supposed to 'calm your mind' or whatnot. So nope, Naruto immediately threw the entire meditating idea out of the window.

" You will have to." Soifon told him stridently. " It's the only way. In fact, we're going to spend this lesson meditating until you can at least draw a connection with your zanpakuto's spirit."

" But…" Naruto wanted to protest, but under his captain's strict gaze, he could only bit his lip and got into his usual meditative position, which he felt rather weird in, having never got into this stance since _years_ ago.

But from what Toushiro had said, the Kyuubi and him got separated from each other, right? Something about the fox being a youkai and got rejected by Soul Society's barriers… So that means that he could meditate properly again, right? _Ah well,_ _it can't hurt,_ Naruto thought, _might as well give it a try._

He closed his eyes, relaxing his body and spreading out his senses, concentrating on finding his zanpakuto's spirit, whatever it is…and-

" TAICHOU!"

Naruto's eyes immediately snapped open as the fusuma slid open with a loud bang. He winced. He could feel Soifon doing the same, having too, been disturbed by the sudden noise. Blubber stood at the doorway, panting loudly, breaths coming out in great heaves.

" What is it, Ōmaeda?" Soifon snapped at the fat man.

" Taichou! Hollows, including Adjuchas and Gillian, are at the boders of Rukongai! Sōtaichō wants the Special Forces and the Second, Third, and Tenth Divisions to dispatch them immediately, before there are too much casualties which will result in the eventual inbalance of souls." The second division's lieutinant said. " Currently, most of our seated officers, together with the third and tenth division shinigamis, and the Patrol Corps are engaged in battle with the hollows. More are on the way to assist the rest."

" You're Corps Commander of the Patrol Corps of the Special Forces, what are you still doing here when your squad is out fighting anyway? Besides, what are the Patrol Corps doing, not noticing the hollows? Aren't they supposed to be _patrolling_?" Soifon asked, but stood up and prepared to leave, nonetheless as Ōmaeda squirmed in his spot, muttering about a surprise attack. " And? What's the status?" Naruto listened quietly on the floor. Apparently, unranked Shinigamis aren't required to participate in this battle. Well, good for him.

" Erm…the hollows…er…have the advantage in this battle…" Marechiyo said, shrugging. " We have already sent about ten to twenty groups there, same with the other two divisions, but er…it's not working."

" WHAT?!" Both Naruto and Soifon cried. Marechiyo and Soifon turned to look and Naruto inquiringly. " Gomenasai." Naruto muttered and got back into his meditative stance. Only that he wasn't meditating. Ten units and still no effect…these Shinigamis are hopeless, he laughed.

" Just how many hollows are there anyway?" Soifon demanded. " What about the other divisions' captains?"

" It's the Gillians and the other hollows. Attacking in bulk…they're giving our shinigamis problems…and most are occupied with the crowd, trying to reduce the amount of casualties. The other captains haven't arrived yet. Ichimaru taichou claimed that it's too troublesome to go…and you know what the tenth division captain's like…"

" It's the same as not having other divisions to help." Soifon muttered angrily. " The oh-so-weak-and-lazy third division and the good-for-nothing play-around tenth division…urrgh." She rubbed her temples frustratingly. " Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!"

Ooh, this is juicy. The taichou's pissed…Naruto laughed silently from the floor, eyes closed as he pretended to 'meditate'. Soul Society has terrible defense. Keeping their entire Shinigami forces in Seireitei's walls…and now they panic when the hollows decides to attack the outskirts. So stupid.

" I couldn't find you." Marechiyo said brusquely. " But you'd better hurry, taichou. The reinforcements I sent might not last that long. Unless you want me to send the unranked members too…?"

" Our priority is to keep the hollows away from the villagers. Gather those with shikai; they won't be participating in battle, but concentrate on helping the crowd." Soifon barked out her orders to her incompetent lieutenant. " What's the amount of casualties so far?" She added as an afterthought as she walked across the room to the door on the other side of the room.

" 'Bout fifteen injured, but no deaths yet." Marechiyo said as he started to follow his captain. Soifon gave a brief nod of affirmation. Not as bad as she'd expected. Too bad, she'll have to check up on the Uzumaki another time. " Our division's doing fine, I'd say." Marechiyo continued. "Better than the others anyway."

" Oh?" Soifon asked. " But then, I won't be expecting much from…those two anyway."

" Yeah. They got five times the number of injured people put together and I heard someone actually died in the third division." Marechiyo informed. Then added, " But I know for sure that the tenth division's third seater's seriously injured."

Naruto chucked to himself. Stupid weak shinigamis. From what he heard, the battle took place at least twenty minutes ago. That fast and already so many casualties? They had got to be kidding. And the tenth division! A third seater even! Who was that idiot anyway…wait…if he recalled properly, the third seater of the tenth division was…

" WHAT?! The third seater's _INJURED_?!" Naruto shrieked, jumping to his feet and also startling both Soifon and Marechiyo with his loud voice. Soifon gave a low growl. Naruto didn't care about that at the moment." _HIM_? INJURED? Are you sure you got the correct man, mister?!"

" Yes I did, brat." Marechiyo said irritably. " My men told me." He blinked as his mind just registered Naruto's presence in the room. " Wait, what are you doing here anyway, low-life useless unranked idiot?"

If it were any other ordinary morning training, Naruto would have screamed and retort back something like 'I always was here, you oversized buffalo!' or something similar until blubber cracked under Naruto's grating and ear piercing voice. But he ignored blubber tonight. He turned to Soifon instead." I'm coming."

" No, you're not." Soifon immediately bit back. " For someone who can't even activate shikai and puts his emotions before tact, I won't allow you." _'Furthermore, I can't risk having Seireitei's weapon running around in the battlefield which he is light years away from.' _

" I said, I'm coming." Naruto said louder and clearer. He scowled at Soifon. Stupid damn kuso-baba…

" And I said, I won't allow you to." Soifon replied, raising her voice up a notch as well. " Your presence there will do more bad than good for us."

" I can fight, damn it! I won't hinder you!" Naruto said, stamping his foot. " I don't care what you're saying- I'm going!"

" I am your captain." Soifon hissed. " As my subordinate, you will _obey_."

" Then as my captain, you should know very well that I don't give a rat's ass about orders." Naruto glared at her fiercely.

" Now look here you…" Marechiyo took a step forward. " What's with this attitude in front of your lieutenant and captain-"

" Ōmaeda, quiet." Soifon said to him. She turned to face Naruto. " Give me a good reason for you to tag along."

" One of my…_nakama_ is out there, _injured_. I can't wait." Naruto said, glowering. " And I'm not a pushover- the hollows won't be defeating _me_. _I'm going_."

" Your 'nakama' can wait." Soifon said irritably, turning to leave. Marechiyo followed after her huffily, indigent about being told to keep quiet. " Hitsugaya isn't a pushover either."

" Why don't you understand?" Naruto yelled at her. " Or are you so damn…_inexpressive _until you don't even care if one of your friends get hurt? I won't stand for twiddling thumbs while he's out there…h-he might be dead for all I know!"

" Its none of my business whether your friend might be dead of not." Soifon said coldly. That sentence struck something too similar to home for him. Naruto lost his voice for the moment. Well, he did remember somebody saying something like this to him…a _long _time ago…

" Shinobi prioritizes their mission over their comrades, huh?" Naruto whispered softly. Even over here, his supposed 'heaven' too? Why is everyone the same? Why doesn't anyone get it? Soifon stared at him for a moment.

" Fine." She said finally_.'Sotaicho is going to kill me later for what I am about to do.' _Naruto looked up, confusion clearly in his eyes. Soifon cleared her throat. " I allow you to go, but you will have to keep with me _at all times_. And I mean it, though I don't think Hitsugaya will be dead yet. "

Naruto's scowl slowly turned into a wide grin. " Yes 'mam!" He saluted happily. Alright, time for some action at last! He hurried over to where Marechiyo and Soifon stood. Both had frowns on their faces.

Marechiyo looked at his captain confusedly. Soifon actually gave in! She gave in! Utterly unbelievable! Is this really his slave driving, no empathy captain? " B-B-But…Taichou! He- this brat is…" Marechiyo spluttered.

" He'll survive." Soifon said crisply. She turned and walked briskly down the hallway. " Now hurry up and get your asses moving- people are dying down there."

" H-Hai…" Marechiyo sighed. Yup, definitely his captain.

" You guys better catch up with me." Soifon said. " Oh, and Uzumaki?" Naruto blinked. " If you die there, then you're a good for nothing useless bum who failed to protect his supposed 'nakama'." '_If you die…_' Soifon thought darkly. Dozens of scenarios involving laughing captains and an angry Sotaicho flashed through her mind. _' I'll kill you.'_

" Don't worry, I won't." Naruto grinned. _' You wait for me, Toushiro. Uzumaki Naruto is coming!'_

The three of them sped off into the night.

* * *

Toushiro cursed as he furiously swiped at Adjuchas he was fighting. There were three of them- his lieutinant and Kira- the second division's lieutinant, were taking on the other two. That only left him to take care of the last one by himsself, considering how…lazy the thrid division's third seater is, and how incompetant the second division's lieutinant was. But then, he shouldn't be complaining about the second division, since they were they ones that helped out the most. Unlike the thrid division.

Toushiro's mind was a haze. _Block, swipe, evade, kick…_he was losing to much blood from the hit he had received not too long ago. By this thing. _It will pay_. He cursed again as he was sent flying back, crashing into one of the houses. Damn it! Where are the captains when you need them the most?! Ichimaru-taichou had evidently dissapeared, probably not wanting to partake in this battle. Soifon-taichou was probably busy with one of her 'super classified' works- she'll never be this late otherwise. As for his captain…? Its best not to think to much about it. It'll only make is blood boil, imagining all the possibilities.

He stood up groggily as he turned to face the Adjuchas. If it weren't for the Patrol Corps, Seireitei wouldn't even have known about this breakthrough until the hollows were well into the seventy-eighth district. No one expected a large scale direct attack by the hollows. The group consists of three Adjuchas, two Gillians, and about fifteen nomal hollows. Luckily, only the eigthieth district was broken- they managed to stop the hollows from proceeding any further.

" TOUSHIRO!"

Good, his stupid captain was probably here. Time to kick his lazy ass for abandoning him and…wha?

Toushiro blinked, his vision clearing up a bit. That wasn't his captain, it was _Soifon_. And since when does Soifon scream at him like that? His answer was apparent as another Shinigami, the one accompanying Soifon, bumped into him. Hard. Toushiro was sent down to the floor again.

" Naruto?" He asked in disbelief as he stared at the blond in front of him." What are you doing here?"

"To save you, stupid." Naruto grinned. " You should be proud- Naruto-sama came here personally to help!"

" I'm doing fine by myself." Toushiro snapped and hauled himself back to his feet. " You shouldn't be here. Its too dangerous for someone like you."

Naruto straightened up and glared at the shorter boy, his frown long gone. " Is that what you'll say to someone who risked his voice to come looking for you?" He demanded. " I got permission."

" What?" Toushiro looked around to see Soifon standing a few meters away, barking out orders to her men. The second division looked extremely relieved to see their captain; their actions have renewed vigor in them. " She allowed you to go?"

" Yup." Naruto beamed. " That's my captain." Toushiro still looked dumfounded, gaping like a goldfish. Naruto decided to change the topic of the conversation before Toushiro's eyes popped out. " So anyway, who did that to you? I'm here now, I'll kick their ass." He eyed Toushiro's injuries. The only thing remotely life threatening was the large vertical gash on the white haired boy's shoulders. It was bleeding heavily, though it didn't seem too deep.

Toushiro had followed his gaze. " See? You rushed down here for nothing. Besides, Shinigami's bodies can sustain these types of injuries better than human ones."

" I know that." Naruto scowled. " But since I'm already here, just tell me who did that to you. I'll kill him."

"That guy's an Adjuchas." Toushiro said, jabbing his thumb at the hollow jeering from behind. " An ametuer like you won't stand a chance."

" What?" Naruto steamed, stomping out to meeting the hollow, drawing his sword out on the way. " I defeat him! You'll see!"

Just as he was about to leap into a charge, the Adjuchas fell forwards with a loud thud, before disintergrating. It revealed Soifon behind, her wakizashi out and dripping with the hollow's black blood; apparently, she had been the one who had delievered the finishing blow.

Both Toushiro and Naruto were silent for a moment before Naruto regained his senses. " Hey! No fair!" He yelled at his captain, throwing a tantrum. " I _wanted_ to kill that one!"

Soifon shrugged. " Go find your own. And didn't I say to keep with me?" A scream rang out from behind- someone was injured. Not waiting for an answer, she shunpo-ed off.

" That was mine." Naruto said, still talking even though his captain was long gone. " I saw it first! And where am I going to get another one? stupid taichou."

" If you want to count it that way, then I saw that one first. I fought it, even. " Toushiro said, but he knew what Soifon was thinking; she had probably not wanted Naruto to fight a high ranking hollow. And with Naruto, the only other method for making him stop was to defeat the hollow by herself. " And for starters, there's one hollow charging straight up to you."

" What? Where?" Naruto swerved blindly around for a second before spotting the hollow Toushiro mentioned. He grinned and dashed straight for the monster, holding his sword out in front and ready to jab at the monster." Alright! My turn- wha?"

The monster had frozen on the spot, covered from head to toe in a large glimmering ice casing. Naruto's tachi, which was just inches away from piercing the beast, was frozen along with it, the ice only stopping halfway along the blade. He could already feel the hilt turning cold, with all the smoking ice on its blade.

" Who did that?" He screamed, frustrated, turning around, and expecting to find the accused Shinigami nearby. There was none. " That was my kill!" he howled. Wait, what was that? He glanced at the chain connected to the hollow. Following it, it led him to…Toushiro? Yup, there was definitely a chain attached at the end of his swords' hilt.

" Shiro-chan!" Naruto gawked. " Y-Y-You…how could you?! That was _mine_!"

" I saw it first." Toushiro said simply, giving the chain a firm tug. The effect was immediate- the ice shattered, along with the hollow inside of it. The crescent blade at the end whizzed past, heading to Toushiro.

" That's you zanpakuto's special ability?" Naruto asked. He banged his sword hard on the floor. The ice on it shattered into sharp tiny shards, which fell to the floor, glimmering there. Naruto stared at them. " That's so cool!"

Toushiro blinked as he caught the end of the chain expertly. " Yes, I know." Glancing around- ignoring Naruto's angry face at his reply as he did so- he added. " Might as well get back to work. My purpose here isn't to play." Saying so, he turned and released his Shikai as he did.

" Wait," Naruto said, catching the other boy's attention. " The next hollow is mine."

'_So, he wants to turn it into a rivalry, huh?' _Toushiro smirked. ' _Though that's probably the best method to get him to work.'_ " It's not that easy for someone who doesn't have shikai."

" I can manage." Naruto grinned before shunpo-ing off. Toushiro did the same. He still didn't know what the blond did to get Soifon to go- it was just madness, shinobi or not. If he weren't in the second division, Naruto would only be rearing hell butterflies now. But still, since he's already here, he'll have to keep close watch over him; he figured Soifon was also doing the same.

" Naruto," He begun, but broke off suddenly when Naruto looked inquiringly at him. Spreading out his senses, he noticed that something with very high reiatsu was appearing before them. Naruto apparently sensed it too, since he tightened the grip on his sword. The hollow approached- it was an Adjucas. More like the Adjucas Kira was fighting with before. ' _Shoot! Where's Kira?_' The other man had better not be dead…

" _Found you_." The Adjucas leered. To their surprise, ten more of its exact copies appeared behind it, shocking both boys.

" Don't die." Toushiro ended firmly as he readied himself into attack stance. He could feel Naruto grinning behind him, standing in a too relaxed position.

" In front of you?" Naruto laughed. " Nah."

They both charged.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Pretty short a chapter. Gomenasai. For both the short chapter and the long wait. About a month, I guess. And this story is still a _long _way from completion. Haha. I'm really sorry if it dosen't meet your standards or anything, be it the plot or my english. I thought the conversations are a bit...cheap for the chapter, but I don't know how to make it more... refined. So...yeah. You got a cheapo chapter. I know its the holidays now, and I should put more dedication to this fic, but somehow, I haven't got the motivation to write nowadays. Sorry again.

And one more thing. I noticed two BIG flaws in the story line. Its fanfiction, so it dosen't really have to follow canon, but well, I _like_ to follow canon. So yeah, according to .com, it said that ' _There is no indication that the Shinigami or any other agencies patrol the streets of Rukongai, ..._' which totally did not agree to what I put in the earlier chapters. The other is that ' _It is unknown if the 2nd Division has any official ties to the corps, or if Soifon is mearly the leader of both._'. So I'm so sorry! I'm lazy to edit this, and doing so might lead to LARGE changes in the plotline and a lot of editing to cover it up, not to mention a lot of confusion to the readers. So just pretend that you didn't know this, okay? ( I told you this just to stop people from asking. Sorry if it bothers you.)

So yeah. Thanks to my loyal reviewees: itachisgurl93, chm01, DarkRavie, Chris101, Lednacek, Poet Bucky, vash3055, lambtastic, okibikami123, Senyor Fier Mensheir, and PennyArcadeFan2, together with all those who favourited, alerted and most importantly read this fic.

Oh, and for this chapter's title, not that it matters much, but can someone tell me, is the particle read as 'wa' or 'ha' over here? Just curious. I always seem to get my japanese particles mixed up. Haha. :D


	13. Worst case scenario

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Naruto or Bleach.

Enjoy.

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**Chapter Thirteen  
最悪の場合( saiaku no baai ) The worst case scenario.**

* * *

Toushiro swung his sword. The movement was pointless anyway- another identical clone immediately replaced the one he just slew. He took several steps back, stumbling slightly. The large wound he had accumulated from his previous fight started to throb much more painfully than before, and his vision was getting foggy again.

He threw a glance at his surroundings again. The Adjucas had somehow managed to lead both him and Naruto off to a deserted area, far enough that not a single Shinigami or hollow was in sight (besides the over-sized Gillians), but yet not so remote that sound of battle could not be heard. He cursed. They were in trouble- no one would be able to spot, and thus, aid them now.

But then, Toushiro thought grimly, even if no one came, he was rather confident that he could take this hollow down, just in time for Naruto to escape. He wasn't so sure about himself, but it was apparent that without extra help, one of them, be it the hollow or him, was going to die in this battle. In fact, it didn't seem as though anyone had missed them or saw them being forced into the forest. Joy. What magnificent devotion did everyone show to their third seater.

Toushiro gave a quick glance to his partner. Naruto was visibly panting, and his robes were torn and dirty from all the non-stop fighting he did- the clones haven't given them any chance to stop or catch their breaths. Toushiro placed his concentration back to his enemy. He needed to end this battle soon- it wasn't that often will he see Naruto panting this hard, with the amazing stamina the blond had. Enough fooling around…the fight was starting to piss him off, actually.

"_Sōten ni zase_," he growled, whipping his sword around as the temperatures started to drop drastically. "_Hyōrinmaru_!"

With another slash of his sword, a stream of water shot forward on the battleground from seemingly out of nowhere. Hopefully, Naruto had enough sense to avoid the oncoming stream of water. Toushiro hoped he did. It would be a trouble to defrost him later. Ah well, no point worrying about that idiot now. The water crashed onto each and every one of the numerous clones hungrily like a mini waterfall. In an instant, the entire area was encased in strong, sturdy ice, glistering in the orange light by the setting sun.

There. That finally got rid of the pesky little Adjucas. The Hollow certainly wasn't expecting such a strong attack from a wounded third seater. Toushiro didn't blame it- he had put his entire reserves into the small pool of water, which had gushed out of his sword tip. Now, to find the blond idiot…

" Toushiro! Behind!"

Toushiro swerved around just in time to see the Adjucas they were fighting bringing down a claw to strike him. Damn! Wasn't it supposed to be _dead_? He immediately brought up his blade to block, but with little or no reiatsu left from the previous attack and the pain, which suddenly shot up from the wound on his right shoulder, stopped his arm movements. He braced himself for the claw to strike down him…but it never came.

He looked up in confusion, just to see another Shinigami in front of him, shielding him from the hollow's attack.

" What a pussy, Shiro-chan." Naruto grinned down at his friend while straining to push the hollow off with his blade. His hands shook with the effort of pushing the large set of claws up and away from the two of them. " I thought you'd fare better than this, after all the 'third-seater' crap you kept telling me."

" This is my fourth battle in today's evasion already." Toushiro protested, rubbing his disobedient shoulder. Nevertheless, he stood up and ripping a small part of his left sleeve out, and used it as a makeshift dressing for his wound as quickly as possible. He figured that he'd better tend to it soon- it was starting to hurt like mad, and he didn't want it to be a disturbance in his future fights.

" _And_, I'm injured." He added once he was done. But that wasn't going to stop him from fighting further altogether though. He tested wounded arm, flexing the muscles in it, before readying his grip on his sword with the other. "Okay, I'm ready." He told Naruto. If the blond had any protests, the blond kept it to himself. " What? You aren't going to stop me from fighting?" Toushiro asked as he regained his posture.

" You aren't going to listen to me anyway." Naruto pointed out, still holding the hollows' claws, grunted, and slashed out, after realizing that he simply could not win the Adjucas when it came down to fighting with brute strength. To both of their surprise, it did not evade his attack; instead, it simply took the hit calmly.

They both found out why soon enough- the hollow dissolved into thin air. Another clone. Now this was starting to get infuriating. The damn original still had enough reiatsu to still create clones? Toushiro scowled silently. It was in much better condition than he thought it was in. That…was most displeasing to him.

Another one attacked from behind. Naruto instinctively ducked and gave a upwards swipe- the hollow dissolved once again. Naruto groaned. Toushiro knew that the blond shared his thoughts too.

This time, five hollows came at once, dashing at full speed towards them. Toushiro raised his sword, ready to defend himself, but there was no need. Naruto, out of annoyance and exasperation at the current battle, had sprinted forwards to attack all five of them at once- the first strike destroyed two of them, a swift kick finished the third, the following slash at the fourth, and the final stab did the last in.

Toushiro blinked. Naruto was really good at swordplay. He didn't know if the blond was bad at it before or not- the only time they sparred with swords was when Toushiro wanted to 'test' Naruto if he could handle a zanpakuto properly or not.

" So how was that, shorty?" Said blond grinned from where he stood triumphantly before he did a shunpo and appeared beside Toushiro. More clones appeared, charging at them again, though this time in a bunch- from about fifteen to twenty.

" Great. Absolutely _splendid_." Toushiro said dryly. " Oh. And mind finishing those off too?"

" Arrgh. At least now I know how enemies feel when I use that technique on them. At least I wasn't so irritating to make small groups at a time." Naruto muttered. He did some stretches then turned to Toushiro. " Okay, I think I can handle them. In the meantime, just find the real one. He's probably still a bit winded after your last attack, so I think he's masking his reiatsu… or something like that. After we find him, the fight will be real easy."

" You don't know that." Toushiro pointed out. " He's an Adjucas that took out the third division's lieutenant."

Naruto scowled. " Just do what I say already, chibi." Without waiting for a reply, Naruto shunpo-ed off, instantly covering the distance between the two groups with a single shunpo, appearing in the center of the cluster.

Being caught off guard, Naruto managed to get rid off another five more clones before he did another flash step to give more distance between them, just before they managed to regain enough of their wits back to throw a counterattack at him.

It didn't matter if he was showing off much more than he usually did during missions. As long as he'd managed to protect Toushiro, that would be enough. But he wasn't crazy enough to be fighting with ninja skills yet- there was still a slight chance that Soifon might be closely watching him, and besides, he knew fairly passable amount of Shinigami skills, just enough to defeat this hollow, at least. He thinked.

Using the ice below him to maximize his speed, Naruto gave a yell and ran forwards, soon finding himself in the mist of the horde of clones, slashing madly at anything which came within his sword's range, occasionally throwing in a punch or two if he couldn't bring his sword back to cut another in time. Yup, he really was giving away too much of his real power.

" Shiro-chan!" Naruto yelled. " Have you found where the real one is yet?"

" Shut up, idiot! This takes up lots of time, concentration, and reiatsu, something which I don't have, or you're not giving me!" Came the replying yell.

" Well, hurry up! I might die any minute soon!" Naruto yelled back as he quickly brought his sword up and slice another clone into half.

" You don't look like it!" Toushiro replied. Muttering to himself and trying to ignore the burning pain on his left shoulder, Toushiro squatted down and drew out the last of his reiatsu, preparing for the spell. Biting his thumb and drawing blood from it, he quickly used the blood to draw out the circle needed for the bakudo.

"_Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, arrive with the wind and depart with the rain._" He muttered. He left the last of his reserves leaving him. His wound throbbed again, much more painfully than before. " Bakudo no go-ju-hachi, _kakushitsuijaku_!"

Toushiro squinted at the numbers being displayed to him by his spell. " Fifty four…no, fifty nine…ninety-eight?" Toushiro stared at the numbers. Why did it jump so quickly? Something was…off… Wait. It was back to the fifties again. Did he misplace it? Nah. Toushiro shook it off. Damn, he was feeling really woozy after the spell…

'_Damn_,' Naruto thought as he slashed at another hollow while glancing at the muddled looking and squinting Toushiro behind him. ' _Its no good, Toushiro looks like he's about to pass out soon, he's already starting to act like a stupid old man…_' He looked back up just in time to see a clone charging towards him, claws out, ready to slice. He immediately slashed at it right in the center- it vanished on the spot. '_If only I could locate the hollow…_' " Oei! Are you done yet, ojii-san?!" He yelled.

" He's not moving! That means he's still being trapped by my ice!" Toushiro finally yelled. " The clones are a distraction!"

" Yeah, I figured that much! Good job, Mr. Dozy!" Naruto snorted. That's what clones are for anyway. Distractions. " So? Where is he?!"

" You're going to receive a good trashing from me once we're back." He could hear Toushiro mutter angrily. " Not very far from here. Two meters further up. At the bunch of frozen trees. Tangled up, I think."

" Yosh!" Naruto grinned. Finally…Naruto was eager to end this battle soon too. Slashing through all the clones wildly, he sped past, getting rid of more on the way. He finally spotted the hollow he wanted- tangled up, just as Toushiro guessed. " DIE!"

The sword sank deep into bone of the hollow's mask, before it met with flesh and then bone again. Blood immediately gushed out on impact, the red liquid splattering on the surroundings floor and Naruto, but the shinobi did not stop there. He continued yanking the blade down a few inches more before digging his swords' blade out, totally ignoring the Adjucas's shrieks of horror and pain as its face was brutally sliced into two.

The hollow dropped down onto the floor, breaking the ice before it as it did so. Naruto was sure it was no clone this time. Its form did not waver, and the blood that had come out of it was definitely real. It was finally over. He had never fought a battle with this tough an opponent using this much handicaps before. His entire body ached like hell. He could've conserved much more energy if he had used ninjutsu. A single Rasengan could have finished the job much more quickly and less strenuously.

Toushiro was gaping at Naruto as the blond slowly made his way back, dragging his bloody sword behind him. That was Naruto? His mind replayed the scene of the blond 's final blows. It wasn't the movements of someone who had memorized on how to kill using a sword from a book. It was the movements of someone who had killed so regularly, it was almost _natural _for him now. It was the movements of an experienced. '_Naruto, just how many people have you killed in your past life?_' Toushiro thought.

" Yo, Shiro-chan." Toushiro looked up to see the blond grinning widely down at him. Naruto now looked almost in the exact same state as him- torn, bloodied and dirty. He had gained a few more grazes as well. He wasn't in much condition to be fighting in as Toushiro was. Naruto tried to hide the severity of his injuries with that big goofy grin of his, so Toushiro tried to ignore them for the moment for his sake.

" I told you I'd beat him, didn't I? Took a hell lot of a time, but…damn, as soon as I find taichou and dump you with the fourth division, I'm going home to get myself a shikai." Naruto continued. With the topic however, his grin turned into a frown instead. " To hell with practicing on that Kido shit- we'd never got beyond twenty and I can't seem to remember the granny chants anyway."

" Yeah, well, at least you're admitting that you suck at kidou." Toushiro snorted and finally released his bakudo spell. He suddenly felt lightheaded with the loss of his reserves. " Help me get up. I think I used up a bit too much reiatsu back then."

" I think you overdid it with the ice. You don't have to pour out so much water. What a sho-" Naruto didn't finish his sentence as his eyes widened at something behind Toushiro. " TOUSHIRO WATCH OUT!"

Toushiro quickly turned just in time to see the Adjucas's claws rushing down to slash at him.

* * *

Soifon growled. Blood was being shed and splattered left and right. The hollows suffered a lot after she and her backups came, but they weren't winning either. The entire thing was turning out to be a huge mess. A gigantic, chaotic, ugly mess. And Soifon hated messiness.

She turned back to a passing shinigami. " Will someone take care of the two big and goofy Gillians already?!" She yelled. " What are you still running like that here? Grab your team and get going!" These people have no common sense at all! It's the big ones that are causing all the trouble and ruckus. And didn't people get rid of the root of the problem first?

" Urm…" The Shinigami fidgeted nervously. " W-well, I'm n-not exactly suited for…err…t-taking down large mo-monsters…"

Soifon blinked. " You're from the third division, right?" she asked, defeated.

" Err, yeah…Yamaguchi Kouhei, t-the third division's newly appointed fifteenth seater, actually."

" …Figures." Soifon muttered. She sighed. She was going to punch that persimmon loving Ichimaru once she gets back, she swore silently. Even her un-ranked shinigamis were doing so much better than this supposed 'fifteenth seater'. Wait, speaking of unranked…

Soifon paled as she looked around hurriedly. Crap. Where is that blond idiot?! She didn't catch sight of any unmistakable mop of sunshine yellow hair anywhere…didn't she specifically tell him to _stay with her at all times_? They were losing a battle already because of the lack of two freaking captains and now the idiot has to make matters worse for her by suddenly disappearing?

But then, knowing his laziness, he had probably just grabbed the third seater and sped back to Seireitei, thus avoiding all the 'unnecessary' fights. She knew for one thing that he wasn't stupid. But without a shikai yet, that idiot would've been seriously injured or worse if he'd ever encountered a hollow. From his mission reports, she knew so far that he could only handle one hollow at a time, and those were only D-ranked hollows, for crying out loud!

"Ōmaeda." She snapped. Her lieutenant immediately appeared, crouched down at her side.

" What is it, taicho?"

" Have you seen Uzumaki?"

Marechiyo looked at bit surprised at Soifon's question. " No, haven't seen that lunatic brat anywhere. I was shielding the bumble headed villagers from the hollows' ceros' attack. Why did you need him anyway? Sheesh, I told you we never should've brought him along…"

Soifon bit her bottom lip. Knowing Naruto, he _might _bite of a bit more than he could chew…The Sotaicho is going to kill her if he'd ever found out about this…

" Oei. Yamaguchi." She snapped. Not waiting for the other's stuttered respond, she carried on, " You didn't see a Shinigami with bright yellow hair around these parts, did you?" Hopefully, he hasn't. That meant that the idiot had at least had enough sense to hide or better still, flee from battle.

" Y-Yes, actually, I did, 'mam." The Shinigami stuttered. He winced and shuddered uncontrollably as Soifon screamed out a 'WHAT?!'. He so hated these types of temperamental captains…

" Well, what was he doing, you slow dimwit?" Marechiyo thundered, making the other wince horribly. " And don't stutter- talk like a man, not a sissy."

" I was helping the villagers to evacuate from their houses when I saw that boy you described. Shockingly yellow hair with a tachi and whisker marks on his cheeks, right?" The timid fifteenth seater said. Soifon nodded tightly. There was no doubt about it now, it was definitely him. " Yeah, he was heading to the forests outside this district…."

Soifon paled. What the hell was the blond doing? Going outside of the battlefield where they are no allies to help you nearby… " Any more? Were there any hollows nearby or something? Or did he have anyone near him?"

The Shinigami screwed his face up, deep in thought. " Oh yeah! And he had the tenth division's third seater with him, so it'll probably be okay. Though he did look a bit pale."

'_Probably from blood loss_.' Soifon thought, though the tension in her heart was relieved somewhat. ' _Hitsugaya won't be much of a help at that state, though._' Maybe they headed to the forests for cover until the third seater regains a bit more strength. Anyway, with Toushiro around, she wouldn't have to worry too much. That boy was also known as the 'boy genius' amongst the captains, and was currently Isshin's pride. But most importantly, he was extremely cool headed, so he'd probably stop the blond from getting too upset.

Uzumaki will probably be fine not. With that assured, Soifon turned to leave, heading to where the Gillians were located.

She didn't know how wrong she could get.

* * *

His vision was blinded by red for a few seconds.

Toushiro blinked as the all too familiar warm red liquid was splattered all over the surrounding ice and snow, all over his numb body, and all over his face. But since there was no pain, his mind immediately reached its supposition- it wasn't his. His mind reeled in shock and horror as his mind registered what had happened, and more importantly, _who_ was in front of him.

" NARUTO!" The idiotic blond had covered for him!

Said blond collapsed face forward onto the floor in a heap. His torso looks like it was pretty much sliced into two, with all the blood covering the wound. Said liquid was quick to seep out of the ghastly wound, and the ground was turning red in a few moments.

The Adjucas had retreated back into the trees for cover, leaving a trail of blood. It was probably still recovering, but leaped at its chance when he was wide open for attacks. _It's my fault, _Toushiro numbly thought, _I was too weak, too slow to move my body in time. If I had, Naruto wouldn't have had to cover for my. All this wouldn't have happened._

Toushiro quickly rushed to his friend's side to check his wounds, never mind that his own was bleeding rather profusely itself too. He breathed a sigh of relief. The gash across the blond's torso was deep, but it wasn't as serious as Toushiro had previously thought. Still, unless Naruto receive medical treatment immediately, he was sure to die. _'Look on the bright side, at least he isn't sliced into two.'_ Toushiro told himself.

" Naruto," Toushiro gasped. " Can you hear me?"

" Unfortunately." Came the weak reply. Trust the other to joke at a time like this. But Toushiro was troubled over how weak the blond looked. His eyes were glazed over and his breathing was heavy. The large pool of blood under him wasn't doing the situation much good. No good, the blond was sure to loose consciousness at this rate.

Toushiro cursed himself. Naruto was only a novice shinigami! No matter how strong the blond seemed to Toushiro, Naruto was still a beginner. The thing that separated them was plain _experience_. He was a fool to let Naruto partake in the battle; he should've just hauled the blond away from the battlefield, away from any fighting and back into Seireitei from the start. It was his fault. All of it. Right from the beginning.

" Okay." Toushiro took in a deep breath to steady himself. It wasn't going to be much help if he started panicking or loose control. " Right. Here's what we'll do. I'll distract the hollow while you call Soifon-taichou. Or anyone else, for backup."

Naruto's eyes widened. " No…"

" Then what?" Toushiro snapped. " I know it's not perfect, but it's the best I can come up with in this situation. You're injured enough. I, however, can still take another hit or two." Toushiro gripped his sword's hilt tighter. He knew he was breaking. He couldn't help it himself.

" …phone." Naruto finished, still managing to sound a little irritated in his weakened state.

" Oh." Toushiro mumbled, suddenly feeling a bit silly for his previous rant. Then the started muttering a few choice curses to cover up his embarrassment before sliding his own cell phone over to the blond. " Use mine. You can move your arms, right?" Naruto nodded in reply.

" I'll be going then." Toushiro mumbled as he staggered to his feet. " I'll probably be able to give you another five more minutes. Soifon-taichou should be able to make it in time." Toushiro grimaced as he took a step forward. His wound was hurting badly, but now was not the time to be thinking about that. Naruto was hurt because of his own carelessness. And _he _was the third seater. _He_ was the own who was supposed to do the protecting, to do the fighting. And now he will. This wasn't the time to be nursing his injuries; the hollow won't wait for them forever.

Toushiro drew out his sword and prepared to sprint forwards, to slice at the Adjucas, but suddenly stopped as he felt something grip his left foot. Turning around, he found that it was only Naruto.

" What?" He snapped. There wasn't much time left. The battle won't carry on forever. And the sky was turning darker by the minute. Moonlight won't help any of them out when they can barely even see what was in front of them, with the lose of so much blood. Shinigamis may be _death gods_, but they die themselves too. Naruto was saying something. Toushiro strained to hear him.

" _It'snotyourfault_."

" What?" Toushiro asked again, but this time in disbelief.

" Its not your fault." Naruto repeated, softly but firmly. " I chose to take the hit for you. This was my choice. So don't force yourself if you hafta."

" W-what?" Toushiro gasped. He quickly looked down guiltily as he tried to hide his shock, or rather, gratitude for the blond. How did he know?

Naruto released him. " Now go kick butt, Shiro-chan!" He cheered. Or at least tried to- it didn't came out right. His voice was now scratchy and dry. Then he started to cough violently.

" Don't scream." Toushiro grinned, apparently managing to get over the emotions he was feeling, as he watched Naruto wheezing away. " You sound like a screeching cat."

" Right." Naruto muttered as his coughing subsided. He reached forwards and flipped open the phone. His face was still pale, and he winced at the small action." Go have fun. I'll just lie here to rot myself-_cough_- or something."

Toushiro nodded and turned to leave. His aching body tensing up for the fight ahead." Oh yeah. One more-_cough_-thing." Came Naruto's weak voice from behind. Toushiro turned expectantly towards the blond.

Naruto managed force out a painful, but wide grin. " Don't die." The simple grin turned out to be too much for him- the blond retched and lapsed into a coughing fit again.

Toushiro grinned back. Naruto's grin was forced, but he appreciated the gesture anyway. " You're forgetting that I, unlike you, am a third seater. Even an Adjucas won't have such an easy time defeating me."

" Promise?"

Toushiro looked at Naruto worriedly for a few seconds before nodding tensely. " I won't die." He grinned. " I told you, I'm a third seater."

Ignoring Naruto's snort in between his coughs, Toushiro sprinted into the forest, following the blood trail, his face serious now. Enough was enough. First Kira, then Naruto? That Adjucas was going to _pay_.

* * *

" Looking good, Soifon-_taichou_!" Came a mocking voice from behind. Soifon turned immediately, slashing at the speaker. As expected, her sword was blocked. The idiotic looking face of a certain Ichimaru Gin grinned back down at her. Soifon nodded at him as a form of disinclined greeting.

" Don't be so cold. I only came to help." Gin said. He withdrew something red-orange and round from inside his robes. " Want a persimmon? I heard that it stops _bleeding. _And, it also helps to regulate reiatsu."

" No thanks." Soifon glared and wiped away the blood coming out from the small gash on her right cheek. The action was proved futile; more immediately seeped out, however. "I'm glad that you've finally decided to grace us with your presence. And may I add that you entire division is completely unreliable without you around?"

" They can't do anything without me, right?" Gin grinned." That's so sweet of them. I don't like them independent anyway."

" …Right." Soifon said. Crazy crackpot twig-man…

" Yo guys. How's everything goin'?" Came a voice from the left. The two captains turned to see a third hurrying towards them, carelessly throwing an empty sake bottle behind him as he walked over to meet them.

" As you can see, we're still fighting." Soifon informed him. " Good. Kurosaki, you're here too. I'll need you to-"

" Ooh, persimmon!" Isshin cried happily as he took the offered persimmon from Gin. He took a bite out of it hungrily. Soifon seethed in anger as the two men ignored her _completely_. " Hachiya cultivar too! You have good timing Gin. I haven't eaten dinner yet."

" Why, thank you." Gin replied. " But y'know, you shouldn't eat 'em when your stomach's empty." He informed the other man worriedly. " They might cause diarrhea."

Isshin immediately spat out his share of persimmons, showering the remains on an approaching third division member. " What did you say?" Isshin gagged.

" Nuthin', nuthin'." Gin said blandly. " Just don't puke them on my lieutenant next time, if you don't mind."

" Yes, it would be much appreciated, Kurosaki-taichou." Said the third division's lieutenant thickly as he tried to wipe off the bits with his good arm. He turned to his captain. " Ichimaru-taichou…" He said urgently as he gripped his left arm tightly, clearly in pain. Blood was visibly dripping down his right arm's fingers.

" Yes, what is it Kira-kun?" Gin asked. " Look at you- you're all torn up, aren't 'cha? What happened?"

" One of the three Adjucas." Izuru said. " I apologize for my incompetence, but I let it get away…"

" There are Adjucas involved?" Isshin groaned. " Just great. I shoulda've come a bit later."

" …You mean that you deliberately come late on purpose?" Soifon gritted out through clenched teeth. She had been keeping silent during the entire conversation, choosing to observe the ongoing battle and seeing if anyone from _her_ division needed help, but perked up at Isshin's last sentence.

" Err…well, yeah…" Isshin muttered sheepishly. " I thought I'd let you clear things up a bit first, Soifon-taichou. Since you're so awesome and all."

" What do you know." Gin smiled. " I thought the exact same thing too. Guess great minds think alike, eh?"

" You…" Soifon hissed angrily. That's it. She was going to rip them to shreds!

Isshin saw the look on her face and was quick enough to change the topic before anything drastic would happen. " Oh yeah." He cried, glancing around at the battlefield below him. " Did anyone see my precious _Shiro-chan_?"

" Precious _who_?" Soifon asked, thinking that she heard wrongly.

" Ukitake-taichou's not supposed to be here." Gin pointed out confusedly. " He's in bed, _again_."

Isshin waved him off. " No, not _Jyuu_shiro, I meant _Tou_shiro. I didn't see him."

" …Oh, I saw him alright. He's doing fine." Soifon said irritably. What kind of nickname was 'Shiro-chan'? Who the hell would come up with such stupid a name as that?

" Really?" Isshin brightened up. " Well, that's good to hear."

" Yeah, he really was living up to his…urm...nickname." Soifon snorted. "Some fifteenth seater said that his face was extremely… _white_ from blood loss."

" NANI?" Isshin screeched, rivaling a vulture. " That's not the definition of 'fine' at all!"

" Yes it is." Soifon said. " At least he's not dead. You got to be positive during battles, Kurosaki."

"…Evil, that's the definition of you…you're just plain evil." Isshin sobbed as he picked up his cell phone and punched in what was apparently Toushiro's number. He waited for a while. " Chikusho! The line's engaged! What is he doing? Calling his girlfriend?!" He dashed to Soifon and started shaking her. " Where is he? Where is my cute little SHIRO-CHAN?!"

" How would I know where that little twit went?" Soifon roared. Isshin whimpered and went to hide beside an amused looking Gin. Soifon took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She realized that her temper had been raging rather badly ever since Naruto came into her division. And whatever happened to being emotionless? Right. She was going to advance the blond idiot once she gets back and then kick him out of her division to be the Sotaichou's guard. And then finally, peace and tranquility will return…

" He ran off into the forest with the Uzumaki brat." Soifon said coolly. She then turned to Izuru who was helping his taichou toss the over-reactive Isshin away. " Now back to the Adjucas topic. I have already killed off two, so that only leaves one last one- the one Kira killed. So maybe you could-" She cut of her speech abruptly and looked slightly annoyed. The others watched in amusement as she withdrew her vibrating cell phone from her robes and flipped it open. " What?" She snapped into it.

" Taichou," came the cracked and weak voice from the other end. " We need…backups." Both Isshin and Soifon paled as they recognized the voice. Gin and Kira just stood there to eavesdrop on the conversation.

" Is that you, Uzumaki?!" Soifon said. " What happened to you? What are you doing?"

" I'm lying on the floor with a massive injury and-_cough_- bleeding all my guts out." came the weak reply. Soifon groaned. Definitely Naruto, alright. " Just hurry up and-_cough_- give us freakin' backups already."

" Alright. I'm coming." Soifon snapped as she abruptly turned to leave. She glanced quizzically as an anxious Isshin followed her. " What's the situation over there?"

" Where's Shiro-chan?" Isshin called into the speaker.

There was a surprised pause at the other end, then Naruto replied. " Toushiro's fighting the Adjucas, since I'm in no-_cough_- condition to fight right now. He's-_cough_- injured too, though. And he said he might only last for five minutes, so you better get your asses here and help him out. I'm- _cough_-lying in a forest clearing. It's covered in ice, so you won't miss it. Toushiro's further in."

" NANI?!" both Soifon and Isshin yelled into the speaker of the tiny hand-phone.

" Ouch." Naruto said irritably from the other end.

" You two have been fighting the last Adjucas?" Soifon asked. An amateur and a bleeding third seater? This was the worst case scenario! She immediately shunpo-ed off to the forest.

" And Toushiro's still fighting it?!" Isshin wailed, trailing after her, weeping like a child who had lost his mother. Soifon was surprised that he was able to catch up with her in this state. "He said he'd only last for five minutes! How long has it been now?"

There was a long awkward pause from the other end. " Urm…seven?"

" WHAAAT!" Isshin screamed, pulling his hair.

" Why didn't you call us earlier?!" Soifon snapped.

" …I err…forgot your number." Came Naruto's sheepish voice from the other end, before he burst out into a coughing fit. " And Shiro-chan's phone doesn't-_cough_- have it."

" …No wonder the line's been engaged." Soifon muttered.

Isshin gave another wail. " Toushiro's doomed by now! Gone! Dead! Decayed!"

" No." Naruto said weakly yet firmly. " He won't die."

" You don't know." Isshin wailed, drying his mucus on Soifon's haori. Soifon cursed as she tried to yank the other captain away from it. People have a grudge against her haori or something!

" I do." Naruto said. He sounded angry. " …because he _promised _me." Then the line was cut off. Soifon stared at her phone indigently- no one, _no one _hangs up on her! - then blanking her face and pocketing her phone and shunpo-ing off. Isshin stared into the trees for a moment or two before hardening his face and doing the same.

" Well." Gin said. " That's just great, guys. Leaving me here to take care of this entire mess. You cook up some drama with a hand-phone and a third seater and leave me…alone…by myself. To think that I even offered you persimmons. Just great." Gin scowled and turned to his expectant lieutenant. " Well? What 'cha waiting here for? There's a battle going on down there." Saying so, he shunpo-ed off.

" B-but Taichou, I'm _injured_." Izuru mumbled to himself, somewhat appalled.

* * *

" _You're finally here. Took you long enough_." The Adjucas leered at the young Shinigami. _" I thought it'll take you till sunrise until you finally managed to drag your ass here for me to kick it."_

Toushiro narrowed his eyes. His legs left like they would buckle under him anytime soon, but he forced himself to stand up straight. He wouldn't show any signs of weaknesses in front of this _beast_. " And how do you know that I'll come? You gave us ample time to escape, despite how severe our injuries are."

" _I know_." The Adjucas replied, his voice as arrogant as ever. _" You humans are the only ones who harbors pansy thoughts like 'take vengeance' or ' finish the job'."_ Toushiro growled in reply. The menos scrutinized him with a thoughtful look on his face. " _A little small, but this'll have to do_." He jeered. " _Since the other one practically killed himself while he covered up for you. What a pathetic ding-dong_."

Toushiro bristled in anger. He charged up his reiatsu. "…and I will kill you for what you've done to him."

" _It was his fault_." The hollow said evenly as he cracked his knuckles. " _He jumped in to save you. Don't take it so hard on yourself, kiddo_." He grinned wickedly, displaying a set of sharp, inhuman fangs. " _However, thanks to him and his efforts when fighting my clones, that had allowed me to recover to a full hundred percent of my original strength, though my legs are still feeling a little… burdensome."_

Toushiro blinked. " I'm not blaming myself. What on earth would make you think that I would feel that way?" He channeled the remaining of his reiatsu into Hyorinmaru, making the temperature drop drastically. The surrounding area was immediately frozen solid, encased in rock hard blue ice.

" _W-What is this?" _The Adjucas looked a little unnerved. He'd never seen anything like this before! The tiny Shinigami in front of him hasn't even unlocked his sword yet, so why did the surroundings change so much? He tried to put his leer back into place, to look unaffected by it all. This guy's zanpakuto was an ice element. " _Freezing me won't work again- I won't fall for the same tricks two times, little boy_." He heckled.

" I didn't want to use this with my body in this state, but I guess there's no helping it now, huh?" Toushiro growled out. Clouds in the sky started to drift towards them, as thunder started to flash overhead. " You should be proud..." He gasped out as he struggled to force in more reiatsu into his zanpakuto, struggling to ignore his weary body's protests, struggling to complete the transformation. " …You'll be the first one to actually witness this."

" …_I have no idea what you're doing, but I'll stop you before you'll even manage it!" _The Adjucas roared, trying to hide his fear. There was no need to worry; the brat was almost half dead. He was in full health now. His clones will eventually overpower him. This battle was in his favor from the start. He created the clones and sent them dashing at full speed towards the twerp.

The Adjucas grinned as his clones' claws smashed deep into the boy, creating a cloud of smoke. His jaws dropped, however, as the dust his clones kicked up thinned out to reveal that each and everyone of them were dispersed. The worst part was that instead a bloody boy that he had imagined, there was only a large ice ball in his place.

" _Is that some sort of pansy-like cocoon?"_ He jeered. _" So what are you going to be when you come out? A butterfly?" _

"Your eradicator." Hissed a voice from inside. The hollow gaped as the 'ball' unfurled itself to reveal that it was actually an enormous pair glass-like of wings. No, not glass. _Ice_. They had actually acted as his protection! The platinum haired boy stood in the center of it all, eyes white and alight with reiatsu.

" Bankai." Toushiro snarled. " _Daiguren Hyōrinmaru." _He clenched his sword's hilt even tighter. He had told Naruto five minutes, but it seems that he was much, _much_ more weaker than he'd thought. With his bankai activated, draining away his reiatsu like water flowing through cupped hands, at this rate, he might only last for about two minutes. He could already feel one of Hyorinmaru's ice petals starting to crack softly.

" Two minutes' more than enough." He growled. And sprang forwards into a charge.

* * *

**Author's notes: **

Yay! Chapter's complete! I think I almost died when I typed down this one. There are so many different things I want to put into each scene, but I can't do that, least the story will look…overstuffed with talking. Sad, isn't it? And I ended this chapter much, much earlier than what I expected. Ah well.

...And apologies if my story didn't meet your standards. If you're not satisfied with it, then just leave quietly. No need to make a fuss.

_Some replies to a few reviewers: _

_Xsilverstarx:_I'm really sorry for the typos! My Microsoft word spell check feature has gone bonkers, and yes, I am really reluctant to get a beta-reader. Don't ask. Yes, Ichigo is going to make his debut…a while later. 'Bout five to seven chapters or so. Let me finish this, and maybe another one more arc first. And yes again, Isshin's Ichigo's dad.

_Jstrife:_Really sorry! I dunno if I'm going to make Naruto a captain or not…and err…I'm not really sure I should put pairings for this fic…. gomenasai!

So once again, thanks for reviewing: animekingmike, xsilverstarx, itachigurl93, jstrife, DarkRavie, Tzeentch, Poet Bucky, PennyArcadeFan2, and brolly51.

Hope to receive more reviews from you guys.

Till the next chapter- Ja.


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